


Hydaelyn's Wing

by Baithin, Cogflox (Baithin)



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Character Appearances, Elezen, Eventual Romance, Future plot development theories, Gen, Highlander Hyur, Lalafell, Midlander Hyur, Miqo'te, Non-canon beyond 2.55, Original Locations, Roegadyn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-03-22 13:32:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 78,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3730777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baithin/pseuds/Baithin, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baithin/pseuds/Cogflox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When magic all over Eorzea becomes uncontrollable and two new Legati appear from Garlemald with a legion and ambitions of their own, the Riskbreakers and Gullwings send a small team to deal with the coming threat. The resulting struggle leads them on a journey outside of Eorzea, where they must fight for the fate of all of Hydaelyn.</p><p>A non-canon adventure of a party of seven: Baithin Alberona, Azionne Melisandre, Edge Marbrand, Granny Moss, Gogonegi Momonegi, Styrmyrgan Eyrdaegsyn, and Ndai Nayatto. Contains many references to past FF games. None of them are Warriors of Light or possess the Echo, nor did they have a part in the game's main storyline. Begins around the time of Heavensward, but while the Warriors of Light are in Ishgard, Dravania, and the Floating Continent, my characters are headed to Ilsabard, Othard, and beyond.</p><p>Also posted on fanfiction.net under the pen name "Ogro."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

# Hydaelyn's Wing

### Prologue

It had been said that magic originated beneath Silvertear Falls.

Ashelia Riot, Grand Steward of the Riskbreakers, rubbed her temples as she sat at her desk, poring over her company’s reports. She knew little of magic – her forte was more in line with axes and similar tools of war. And yet, based on the reports in front of her, a magical crisis faced her company once again.

This time, it seemed to have affected all of Eorzea – with Mor Dhona at the epicenter.

They first noticed it earlier that morning when Velas’to stumbled into the Sandsea, their home and headquarters, screaming in agony and clutching his head. Blaetlona had rushed to his side, a Physick spell on her lips, but instead of healing him her spell had only seemed to hurt him more. And that was only the beginning – Mariuselt, despite being a practitioner of arcanima, proved unable to bring solid form to the aetheric beings he summoned. Resh had her aether leaking out of her wherever she went, and she was currently bedridden along with Velas’to. Issabel and Eleanor both nearly burned the Sandsea to the ground (a particularly impressive feat for the latter, who did not know any fire magic). Granny Moss somehow even managed to conjure a small tree in the dormitories as she looked after the sick… The list went on.

Ashe heard a knock on her door. She ran her hands through her dark pink hair and donned the beret she used for official Riskbreaker business. “Come in,” she said, sitting up straight with her head held high. It would not do to appear tired when the Riskbreakers needed her.

Sylvan Rain, her second-in-command, entered the room. At the sight of the blue-haired Roegadyn woman, Ashe let her shoulders fall. “Is everything going well in here?” she asked.

Ashe sighed. “I can’t make any sense of this. I sent A’zaela and Zulak into Ul’dah to speak with the thaumaturges, but the only thing they reported over the linkshell was that the city is in a panic, and in much the same condition as we are here. What in the seven hells is going on?”

“Edge, Grey, and I managed to aid the Flames in calming the people of the Goblet, at least for the time being,” Sylvan said. At that, Ashe allowed herself to smile. She wished she could just cuddle up with Edge and forget about all of this. “Also, A’zaela and Zulak returned just minutes ago. We’re ready for you now.”

Ashe nodded and stood. “All right, thanks. I’ll be out there in a minute.” As Sylvan left, she piled the papers on her desk neatly and looked over the world map beneath them. “We Riskbreakers should be fighting Garleans, not fixing magic crises,” she muttered.

* * *

 

Outside of her office, everything was in chaos. It had been a long time since this many Riskbreakers gathered together in one place, so they had pushed all of the bar tables together to accommodate everyone. The Grand Steward’s gaze fell over Grey and Jaraku, trading barbs with each other. Gaelle and Marguerite stood in the corner, both looking paler than usual. They, too, were mages, so they must have been feeling the effects of whatever had happened as well. Bear and Sasaxia Saxia sat together in another corner, and seemed more confused than anything else. Blaetlona stood on shaky legs, being supported by Styrmyrgan. Others argued, or expressed confusion and fear.

Through it all, she caught Edge’s eye. He gave her an encouraging smile.

She took a deep breath. “Everyone, please sit down,” she said, voice firm. Effectively silenced, they all complied, trying to find as much space to sit as they could. Ashe liked how her voice echoed off the Sandsea’s stone walls. She sat down right on the edge of the bar. “Let’s begin this emergency meeting.”

Sylvan, sitting to her right, spoke up first. “A few people couldn’t make it. Velas’to and Resh are still bedridden upstairs and some others collapsed. Granny’s looking after them.”

 _But who’s looking after Granny_? she wondered. _She’s a mage, too, and older than all of us_.

“Right, then.” Ashe fixed her gaze on Leodaire, and the archer seemed taken aback at being addressed so early in the meeting. “Leo, how is the situation in Mor Dhona?” She had sent him to Revenant’s Toll to get a feel for how the realm’s adventurers were generally handling this crisis, or perhaps the cause of it. This kind of thing was right up the alley of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn – but with recent events in Ul’dah, they were unable to do anything.

“Worse than here, boss,” said Leo. The Hyuran man scratched his chin. “It’s definitely centered in Revenant’s Toll, as was suspected. Cid Garlond even made a public appearance, mentioned some magic artifact the Garleans salvaged from beneath the ruins of the _Agrius_.”

“The _Agrius_?” Ashe tapped her fingers against the bar counter. “I thought the Scions chased the salvagers away from there.” The Riskbreakers almost did the same before the Scions beat them to it. She tried not to sigh in front of all of them – if the Garleans truly were involved, then this was a Riskbreaker problem after all.

A voice she didn’t immediately recognize piped up from the back of the room. “The Warriors of Light did, not the Scions.” It was Ahtynwyb, a Roegadyn of the Gullwings. The Gullwings were a company that the Riskbreakers were acquainted with, but they didn’t have much in common – they were a treasure hunting group of the realm’s historians, and definitely not soldiers.

But if a magic artifact was the cause of all this mess, the Gullwings might know more.

“This is Riskbreaker business, Ahtynwyb. Unless you’ve decided to take up my offer…”

The knight shook her head. “I’m just here visiting Sylv,” she said, giving a shy smile to the other woman, which Sylvan returned.

Edge waved his hand, leaning back in his seat. “Warriors of Light, Scions, what’s the difference?” There was no difference, as far as Ashe was concerned. The Warriors of Light worked closely together with the Scions, the grand companies, and no one else. Based on their accomplishments, Ashe would have loved to have even one of them in the Riskbreakers.

“There’s an enormous difference, my friend!” Jaraku the bard stood up on the table, gaudy clothes on full display and harp in hand. Honestly, Ashe was surprised it took him this long to say something. “But our poor magical friends are sick, and getting worse by the minute – this isn’t the time to argue semantics! So I say, quite soundly, that somebody sends a sap to the Scions and …”

“Jaraku, sit down,” Ashe commanded.

A’zaela looked over Zulak in worry, who grit his teeth in pain. “What would the Garleans want with a magic artifact beneath Silvertear, anyway?” she asked.

“Not the Garleans. The Ascians.” All heads turned to the front door, spotting an Elezen woman leaning heavily on a gnarled bone staff in the entryway. Her legs shook as she struggled to support herself, wearing little but a torn black cloak and a skirt that was so dirty, faded, and torn that Ashe couldn’t tell what the original color was. The woman pulled back her hood, allowing bright red hair to cascade down her shoulders.

“Azionne!” Blaetlona exclaimed. Her pain forgotten, she rushed to the other woman’s side to help her friend.

Ashe’s eyes widened in surprise. Azionne Melisandre never looked so different. The woman was always immaculately clean, holding herself with the utmost poise and grace, and she always seemed dangerous even in a formal gown as red as her hair. Now, she seemed almost animalistic, leading Ashe to wonder what the Black Mage had been up to in the weeks she had been gone from the Sandsea.

“The Ascians?” Ashe asked. She tried not to show her surprise, or even concern. Azionne would not have cared for that, especially in front of all the Riskbreakers. But if the Ascians were involved in all of this, that didn’t bode well at all. If she knew little about magic, she knew even less about the dark mages.

“It has long been known they’ve been working in tandem with the Garleans,” said Sylvan, nodding.

“Well, welcome back,” Ashe said, offering a smile. “Please, tell us everything you know.”

Azionne leaned her staff against the wall and crossed her arms. “Only the artifact’s name, and that the Ascians were involved. It is called Lunatic Pandora.”

A few people spoke in low murmurs to each other, but no one seemed to recognize the term. Ahtynwyb spoke up again, apparently oblivious to the atmosphere. “Hi, Azi! It’s good to see you!”

Ashe looked at her, incredulous. What was with Roegadyn women who seemed to be on such friendly terms with the Black Mage?

“Ahtyn,” Azionne replied, giving her a surprisingly soft smile.

“But, uh…” Ahtynwyb folded her arms, thinking for a moment. “I can ask the Gullwings what they’d know.”

“I was thinking I could pay them a visit,” said Ashe, nodding to her. “After this meeting I’ll try, but who knows how they’re dealing with all this?”

Issabel rubbed at her temples and grit her teeth. “Azionne, it’s good to see you and all, but… Is there anything we can do about this godsdamned aether pain?”

“I do not know,” Azionne replied, swaying on her feet. “It’s particularly inconvenient to me as well, I assure you. And it’s why I’ve returned in the first place.”

“I could try teaching everyone meditation techniques, maybe?” Edge suggested. “I’m no mage, but it does help with my chakras, and they’re kind of related.”

“For once, I agree with the oaf,” said Azionne.

Ashe ignored her comment, thankful for even a temporary solution they could grasp for. “Good idea. Everyone who isn’t a mage, try to find out anything you can about this Lunatic Pandora, or keep the Goblet from descending into total chaos.” She looked around at them all as they nodded. “Now, are there any other realm-threatening crises should know about before I visit the Gullwings?”

Inga Redfist slammed her hand down on the table, alarming more than a few people. “Word came in from the Resistance. Seems there’re two new legati in town. Thought ya should know.”

Ashe nearly groaned in exasperation. Just what she needed. “And you heard of this from your companions?” Ashe preferred not to deal with the Ala Mhigan Resistance movement at all – their methods weren’t the same as the Riskbreakers’, and from what little she knew of them, she didn’t like the way they did things. Nonetheless, Inga was a former Resistance member who chose to join them instead, but only recently. Ashe supposed it wouldn’t be bad to have at least a few Resistance contacts.

Inga nodded. “Worse, yet. Those black hooded mages have been seen with ‘em.”

Azionne stepped forward, eyes narrowed. “The Ascians are not known to make common appearances. Are you certain you’ve heard correctly?”

“Are you doubting me? Wanna fight?”

Azionne sneered at the Highlander. There was the woman Ashe knew. “Not particularly.”

“Enough,” said Ashe, before Inga could say something else. “Sylvan, keep an eye on things here. Edge, come with me. I’m off to the Lavender Beds in Gridania.”

Leo raised his hand. “Er, sorry boss. Because of all this, the aetheryte crystals aren’t working correctly.”

By Rhalgr, can’t anything be convenient today? “Very well.” She turned to the Riskbreakers’ resident chocobo handler. “Lanette, fetch me Rosencrantz, if you would.”

The only thing she needed next was another Calamity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, that's a lot of names. Every single character mentioned in the Riskbreakers or the Gullwings aside from the seven mentioned in the summary belong to other people. I wanted to give my friends some screen time, but in just a bit it'll focus on the main characters, so don't worry if it's hard to keep track of all of them.
> 
> Any feedback would be appreciated!


	2. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edge Marbrand and Ashelia Riot of the Riskbreakers go to meet with the leader of the Gullwings company, Aran'sae Dia, to discuss the recent magic crisis in Eorzea.

The Gullwings' home seemed to be as part of the Lavender Beds as the plants, trees, and even well-worn brick walkways, blending in with all of the greenery and brightly colored flowers. Despite the urgency of the situation, Edge and Ashe ambled up the path slowly on the back of Ashe's chocobo, admiring the sight of the sun setting behind the cliffs as it reflected off of the waterfall near the Gullwings' house. As such, Edge barely noticed when Ashe tugged on the reins and brought Rosencrantz to a stop.

"It's so pretty here," Edge said, running a hand through her hair. He wondered if they could ever live here together one day. "Your hair matches the flowers."

She chuckled. "It is nice. And here we are."

They had stopped in front of an archway covered in leafy vines, marking the entrance to a cottage behind a low fence. Edge jumped off the back of the chocobo and walked toward the arch, spotting flower-covered screens that framed the path on both sides. To his right, a couple of chocobos gently warbled at him from inside their stable. On his left, in front of a small pond before the front door, a young man sat at a table scrawling at a piece of parchment. Edge's face lit up as he recognized the familiar face.

"Is this the home of a bunch of historians or gardeners?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Baithin Alberona looked up from his work, brushing his blond hair out of his eyes. "Edge Marbrand!" he exclaimed, grinning. "I guess it's a bit of both, really."

Edge walked up to him and slung an arm around Baithin's neck as he stood, rubbing his knuckles in the smaller man's hair amid loud protesting. "Long time no see!"

"Ow, that hurts!" Baithin pulled away from him, scowling. He straightened his white and green tunic and patted down his mussed up hair. "I'm a mage too, you know. Almost lost control of my magic there, with all this crazy stuff happening."

"Sorry," Edge said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Are you boys done?" Ashe stepped into the yard, arms crossed with an amused smirk on her face. "I suppose whatever happened in Mor Dhona affected you guys, too."

"Hi, Ashe," said Baithin, gathering up his papers. "And yes, it seems to have reached all of Eorzea. I've been writing just to get my mind off of the headache."

While Edge knew that the wiry, lithe Midlander favored his bow and sword, he also knew that Baithin had some talent in arcanima. A few moons ago, the black mage Azionne had basically kidnapped Baithin, the Riskbreakers' conjurer Granny Moss, and Edge himself for a job she needed doing that required mages from the three schools of magic. Despite the fact that Edge himself had no magical skill whatsoever, she made him come along as a bodyguard of sorts. Supposedly, Azionne and Baithin had worked together in the past, which was why she chose the friendly Gullwing in the first place.

"Is Aran'sae here?" Ashe asked. "I've come to speak with him about all this." Ashe had warned Edge on the way there that the leader of the Gullwings could be grumpy sometimes, so he had to be on his best behavior.

Baithin tilted his head at that, confused. "Uh, sure. He's inside, I'll bring you to him."

The inside of the Gullwings' house was cozy, if a bit small. Baithin led them past the main room through a door in the back, then down a short hallway where the two Highlanders felt somewhat cramped. Baithin knocked on a nondescript door at the end of the hall.

"Aran'sae? Ashe Riot and Edge of the Riskbreakers are here to see you," he said, poking his head in the door.

"Prithee enter," a voice called.

Baithin pulled the door open and beckoned them inside. "After you."

The leader of the Gullwings sat at the head of a wooden table to their right, rummaging through documents with another Miqo'te that Edge didn't recognize at his side. Aran'sae, at the head of the table, looked up as they entered. Edge was taken aback for a moment by the brightness of his eyes, one blue and one green, as well as his pure white hair, both set against his dark skin.

He stood, revealing that he was even smaller than Baithin, and gave the two Riskbreakers a bow. "Ashelia Riot, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Based on the grimace he wore, he didn't seem to think this was actually a pleasure at all, but Edge supposed it also could have been the aether bothering him. "L'tehz, would you mind pouring tea?" The other Miqo'te nodded as Aran'sae hid his hands in the sleeves of his robes – to hide their shaking, Edge suspected, to go by what the other mages in the Riskbreakers did all day today.

"Aran'sae," Ashe greeted with a nod.

Edge gave a little wave. "Hi, I'm Edge. I've heard a lot about you."

Baithin stepped around them to do the introductions. "Ashe, you've already met Aran'sae Dia," he said, gesturing to the white-haired Keeper. Aran'sae nodded, and Baithin went to the Miqo'te L'tehz's side, jostling him as he poured tea. That earned him a scowl. "But this is my friend Nathan. Nathan, this is Ashe and Edge."

L'tehz, inclined his head toward them. "Hello. Er, feel free to sit down."

The three of them did so, and Edge took the opportunity to look around the room. Like the outside, it was fairly green in Aran'sae's private chambers. Flowerpots hung from the walls. One row of plants sectioned off a workbench from a row of bookshelves that lined half of the room, and another vase of overgrown flowers sat in the middle of the table. The rest of the room – Aran'sae's bed, Edge assumed – was behind a wall. Edge, Ashe, and Baithin all accepted the tea that L'tehz offered.

"I've come about the latest crisis in Eorzea," Ashe began, straightening her long black and red leather coat. "We've determined that it began in Mor Dhona."

Aran'sae calmly folded his hands in his lap. "I am aware. Many of our own are scattered throughout the Shroud, offering the solace that they are able. The elementals seem to be in as much pain as we are, and certain parts of the Twelveswood have violently reacted to this invisible foe, whether or not its people have been caught in the crossfire." He closed his eyes for a moment. "I can hear their cry. Pray tell, why have you come to me?" For a moment, Edge wondered why Baithin was here when all of his comrades were out helping in the Shroud, when he realized the mages of the Gullwings were probably bound to the house to rest, just as in the Riskbreakers.

Ashe took a sip of her tea and responded. "One of my people was present when Cid Garlond tried to calm the masses in Revenant's Toll, letting them know that the Garleans caused this crisis by salvaging a magic artifact from beneath the ruins of the  _Agrius_."

"I had heard rumors of Cid appearing," said Aran'sae. "Though I know naught of this magic artifact." L'tehz looked back and forth between them, but didn't say anything.

"What magic artifact?" Baithin asked, scratching his head.

Edge leaned back, crossing his arms. "Azionne knew what it was called, somehow. She said… Lunatic Pandora."

Baithin raised an eyebrow. "Azionne? How would she know?"

Edge shrugged. "Don't know. She wouldn't say."

"Azionne?" Aran'sae asked. "The one who spirited away two of my own for a dangerous journey without any word? You were wise not to bring her to this meeting." At that, Edge wondered how a confrontation between the two of them would go. He suspected it wouldn't end well. "Regardless, I have never heard of this 'Lunatic Pandora.' I will do what I can to research it, but I am sorry to say that we will be of no help to you."

L'tehz grunted. "That's got to be some powerful magic, if it's doing all this."

Ashe nodded. "Azionne said the Ascians were the ones behind this, working with the Garleans."

"Can this source be trusted?" Aran'sae asked, his voice low.

Ashe nodded. "I trust her. She once had a connection with the Ascians, though I do not know the details."

"And the Ascians are…?" L'tehz crossed his arms, questioning them with a stern stare to match Aran'sae's own.

"A group of dark mages," Ashe replied. "Though I don't know much else." Edge noticed that she conveniently didn't mention what little they knew of the Ascians came from Azionne herself.

Aran'sae nodded. "I see."

"Additionally," Ashe continued. "Two new Garlean legati have come to Ala Mhigo, and our sources say Ascians have been openly sighted with them as well. I believe these two events are connected, and I'd like to strike them before they can make a move against us. They've  _never_  let themselves be seen, as far as we know."

Edge blinked, stunned. He had no idea Ashe had been thinking about an offensive against the Garleans.

Aran'sae seemed unfazed. "That seems to me like a task for the grand companies, or even the esteemed Warriors of Light."

"All three grand companies and the Crystal Braves are in disarray," Ashe said, clenching her fist. "I'm not considering an all-out offensive yet, but I at least want to send a small, elite team to Ala Mhigo to find out what they can. And for that, I'd like the aid of the Gullwings. Magical artifacts, possibly ancient ones, are the forte of your group, are they not?"

"Don't you have other allies?" L'tehz asked.

Ashe averted her eyes. "Precious few. That is another reason why we came to you."

Aran'sae said nothing, steepling his hands in front of him. After a long pause, he sighed. "We do not want to be dragged into your fight with the Garleans, particularly when the realm faces a crisis of this magnitude."

Edge sat forward, clenching his jaw. How could he say that, when the Garleans already dragged all of Eorzea into this war? It affected everyone, whether they liked it or not. He was about to say as much when Ashe put her arm in front of his chest, cutting him off before he could speak.

"I see," she said, moving to stand. "Sorry for wasting your time. You should get some rest."

Baithin gave them both an apologetic frown as they walked toward the door. "Aran'sae… Isn't there anything we can do?"

Aran'sae paused again, staring blankly ahead for a moment, and then fixed his gaze to Ashe. "Ah. I am suddenly reminded of the legend of the birth of magic."

Edge leaned forward. "What legend?"

Aran'sae continued. "It is said that magic began beneath the waters of Silvertear Lake, created by the gods Althyk and Nymeia, the first two of the Twelve. Through this, Silvertear Falls came to be the center of all that was, and the fount of magic and water. Fearing the lake might fall into the hands of evil, Brother Time and Sister Fate appointed the great dragon Midgardsormr as its warden and guardian, where he rested until fifteen years ago." The Keeper of the Moon paused and closed his eyes, as if trying to hide the pain he felt. "If indeed these two events are connected, it is an ill omen. Very well, I will give you two of mine own to investigate in Ala Mhigo."

L'tehz frowned. "Is that a good idea?"

Aran'sae waved his hand. "And take the  _Fahrenheit_ , so this matter can be dealt with quickly." He turned to Baithin. "Baithin, would you like this task?"

Baithin sat back, eyes wide. "Me?"

"Indeed," said Aran'sae. "You've worked well with the Riskbreakers in the past, have you not?"

The Midlander beamed. "I'd love to!"

"And since the airship will need its engineer, you may approach little Gogonegi and ask for his aid as well. He is currently in his workshop," Aran'sae continued. Edge grinned – Gogonegi was another friend of his, and the fifth member of their band when Azionne brought them all out on her job.

"Thank you, Aran'sae," Ashe said, actually grinning at him. "It's very appreciated."

Aran'sae shook his head, offering a small smile of his own. "Think nothing of it. I am simply following the tenets that the Gullwings were based on – to make the realm a better place." He paused, eyes glossed over in thought. "This 'Lunatic Pandora' is an unknown element. Thus, I would have it be revealed." He glanced between the three. "May Nophica guide your footsteps that you may never be lost on Her soil." He rose to his feet. "Pray bring my friends back safely," he added, almost as an afterthought. His eyes softened as he said it, but he turned away to return to his duties.

* * *

Gogonegi's workshop was easy to find, further down the hall and isolated from the rest of the rooms. A loud clanging noise issued from behind the door, which Baithin didn't even bother to knock.

"Gogo! We've got visitors!" he announced.

Edge peeked around him into the workshop. While the rest of the place had soft green colors, plants, and bright flowers, Gogo's room was the complete opposite. The walls and floor were both a dark, dull metal, and most of the tables and chairs kept the same color scheme. His working area sat directly in front of the door, consisting of two low tables to accommodate his Lalafellin height. Dozens of loose papers littered the floor everywhere, and upon closer inspection Edge realized they were all diagrams and schematics for various types of machinery that he didn't understand. Most noticeably of all, however, the rank stench of goblin cheese assaulted his nose.

Ashe waved a hand in front of her face. "Ugh, that smell."

A goblin poked her head out from behind the workbench. "Sshkoh! Mean Uplander insults Cogflox brand gobbiecheese!"

Gogonegi seemed to notice them then, looking up from the piece of machinery he tinkered with. He had been banging out a dent in the round machine, which was the source of the noise.

"O-oh! Hello," he said, lifting his goggles to his forehead. His dark purple hair stuck out in every direction. He wiped sweat from his brow with thick leather gloves and smoothed out his dull red dalmatica with a small smile. "How long has it been, Edge?"

"A few moons now," he said, kneeling down in front of the table. He patted the boy's head and ruffled his hair even more, which Gogo fussed over. "Did you build all this?" he asked, gesturing particularly to a miniature model of a Magitek reaper.

"Kindly Uplander Gogo did! Yes! Yes! All with Cogflox helpybuilds!" said Cogflox, his goblin assistant. They had run into the young goblin on their last journey together, and she had been attached to Gogo ever since.

"Oh," said Baithin. He gestured to Ashe. "This is Ashe Riot, leader of the Riskbreakers. We've come to ask you something!"

Gogo's pale green eyes widened and his mouth hung open. "U-um, how can I help you?"

Ashe gave him a soft smile and knelt at his side. "It's nice to meet you, Gogonegi Momonegi. I'm sending a few Riskbreakers and Baithin here on a short trip to Ala Mhigo for some investigating."

"Yeah," said Edge. "Aran'sae is letting us take your airship, but we'd need you as its engineer. You don't even have to leave the ship if you don't want to."

Baithin scratched his head sheepishly. "We figured we'd leave it entirely up to you this time," he said. Baithin had expressed to Edge last time that he felt guilty for muscling Gogo into their journey.

"Uhh… I mean, Aran'sae said all the mages should be resting and all," he said, swaying on the balls of his feet.

Edge gaped. "You're a mage too?"

Gogo nodded. "I grew up in the arcanist's guild in Limsa Lominsa. But I'm not very good at magic, so I left. I can still feel the aether sickness, though."

"This mission is related to the aether sickness, actually. You'd be helping all the people in each city-state if you came with us," said Ashe.

Baithin nodded. "If our heads hurt, just imagine how Aran'sae, Naoh'ra, Arae'sae, and all the others feel. They're much better mages than we are."

"And you were very brave last time," said Edge. "The Riskbreakers would love to have you with us for this."

"And I'll be there with you again," said Baithin. "So you'll have a familiar face."

"I'm going to send Edge along as well, if that'll make you more comfortable," said Ashe.

Edge grinned. "Really? You will?"

Gogo looked between all three of them, eyes spinning. "Erm… I suppose… Cog can look after my workshop for me."

"Cogflox will be bossypants while Uplander Gogo is gone! Leave it to Cogflox! Sshkoh!" said the goblin, who had lost interest in the conversation right until then.

Baithin clapped his hands together. "Right, then it's settled. Let's go get the  _Fahrenheit_  ready for departure! I'll be pilot, just like you showed me!"

"Thank you, Gogonegi," said Ashe, smiling. "We'll fill you in on the way back to the Sandsea."

As they left the home of the Gullwings, Baithin trailed behind with Edge. "Guess we all muscled him into it again, didn't we?"

* * *

Edge couldn't stop looking over the side of the railing the whole way back to Thanalan. He didn't get to ride airships much, so he treasured the experience whenever he could. The moon was full tonight, so the view was wonderful.

Unlike public airships used by the city-states, the  _Fahrenheit_ was much larger. Baithin piloted it from an indoor cockpit and bridge in the front, but it was located below deck. The  _Fahrenheit_  was also big enough to hold two cabins and an engine room, containing all of the realm's latest technology from Garlond Ironworks. The Gullwings had painted the wooden hull a deep red and the balloon above the deck had been emblazoned with their standard, a golden bird with outstretched wings.

Ashe stood up on the deck with him, comforting her chocobo. "I've always wanted to ride this thing," she said, softly cooing at Rosencrantz. The chocobo did not seem to like being so high up in the sky.

"Me too," said Edge. "Can those two really fly this by themselves?"

Ashe nodded. "You heard Baithin. He said Gogo's a one-man crew. Though I suppose you can stand to learn how to help crew it, since you'll be with them."

He smiled at her. "Thank you for that."

"Of course," she said. "Why wouldn't I send the native Ala Mhigan to Ala Mhigo? Not only that, but you've had connections to the Resistance in the past, haven't you?"

"Very few," he said. "My mother always told me not to get involved with that crowd."

Ashe nodded. "Rightfully so."

"What about you? You're Mhigan as well. We always said we'd return together. And Grey, and Inga…"

"My place is with the Riskbreakers here," she said, looking out over the night sky. They both watched the trees of the Shroud slowly become sparser, making way for the scorched earth of Thanalan. "Besides, we always promised we'd go to Ala Mhigo together in triumph, remember? This will just be a reconnaissance mission. Inga just joined the company, so I don't really want her going on a mission to Ala Mhigo yet. I'd like to send Grey with you, though. He's around Gogonegi's age, is he not? It'd do him good."

Edge nodded, understanding. Grey was like a son to her.

"And one more thing before we get back," she said. "I spoke to Cecilia Harvey in private before we left earlier. She knew a bit about the two new legati arriving there."

Edge pictured the white-haired woman. Every time he saw her, she always wore pristine white armor. "Yeah?"

"Their names are Terra xia Rozarria and Celes xia Lux. Both of them are high-ranking Garlean noblewomen who are above the station of a legatus, but willingly chose to lead their own legion together in a campaign against Eorzea. According to Cecilia, it's highly unusual, but they've always been ambitious women."

"How did she know all this?"

Ashe crossed her arms. "I don't want the company as a whole to know this, but Cecilia is an ex-Garlean soldier, and she had a fairly high rank herself. She knew of them through their reputation."

Edge nodded. He didn't know her well, and always found her a bit mysterious, but she carried herself like a soldier. "That explains some things," he said.

Ashe grabbed his hand. "I want you to be careful. Inga arranged a meeting between you and a few Resistance members outside of the city, so they'll smuggle you in."

He pulled her close to him. "I will be. Don't worry."

She kissed him, and he savored the moment, as he always did. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said. "I'll tell you all about Ala Mhigo."

Rosencrantz warked suddenly, causing the two to look up from each other. They spotted Gogo coming through the hatch up to the deck, and they separated.

"Um, sorry," Gogonegi said, blushing fiercely. "But Baithin wanted you to look down below. We're over the Goblet now."

Edge and Ashe did so. His hands clenched the rail in panic and fear as he spotted smoke trailing into the sky.

"No!" Ashe yelled.

The Goblet was burning, and the Sandsea was in the middle of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, the only characters I own are Edge, Baithin, and Gogonegi. Comments and reviews would be appreciated!


	3. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the Sandsea, the Riskbreakers fight back after a surprise assault on their home by Garlean soldiers during the night. With all of their mages out of commission, they are hard-pressed to survive until their Grand Steward and the others return.

# Hydaelyn's Wing

## Part 1: The Heart of the Empire

### Chapter 2

Chaos gripped the Goblet's streets.

At least a whole cohort had attacked the Goblet in the late evening, bringing with them their siege engines and warships. The attack had started in the air, but ground troops soon filed in, cutting down the adventurer residents of the Goblet left and right. With little to no magic working correctly, none of the Goblet's residents – much less the Riskbreakers – could fight back with all their strength.

But with Ashe gone on her meeting with the Gullwings, they had to.

Moss managed to flee the Sandsea as it burned, taking the aether-sick Riskbreakers with her. Every step she took burned, but she forced herself to continue, at least for the sake of those who relied on her. Velas'to Faegyln and Resh Viqqoh suffered the worst effects of the aether sickness by far, and Moss surmised it was mostly due to their connections to magical beings. Velas'to, in ways Moss didn't know, managed to disfigure himself with magic, becoming half a magical being himself, while Resh still felt the scars from her severed connection to the Void. As such, they could barely stand.

A'zaela Linh was their sole non-magic protector from any Garleans who came into their path, and despite being a lancer of great skill, even she was hard-pressed to protect them all. Zulak Rah had led them to one of the tunnels running underneath the Goblet, but it didn't shield them from the sounds of blasts and the screams from up above.

"The adventurers are all fighting back," said Mariuselt Solainteau. "Even without magic. And the Flame soldiers are helping as well."

Moss leaned heavily on her gnarled wooden staff, brushing the soot from her heavy dalmatica and dress. "Our greatest advantage against Garlean technology was our use of magic. Without it, Eorzea will fall." She mentally cursed to herself – she should have expected an attack immediately after they had all lost control of their spells. The Garleans had planned this, to be able to attack so swiftly. And the Riskbreakers, independent from the grand companies but the victors of the battle at Castrum Meridianum, had to have been first on their list of targets.

"We can't give up, Granny," A'zaela said to her, clenching her spear. "We'll fight as long as we have to."

Moss sighed and silently beseeched the elementals to protect all of the people she cared about fighting the Garleans up above. She wished she knew where Styrmyrgan was – her noble oaf of a grandson was probably fighting alongside Sylvan and the others, playing at being a hero like his mother and father. But that had gotten them killed.

As had been the case for the past five years, the elementals didn't answer her.

Velas'to fell to his knees, and the aether churned around him so much that it became visible. "My friends… we must… protect this place!"

"No," Moss said. "We will leave the fighting to the others. We have to escape the Goblet. These tunnels run all the way out into Thanalan."

"Over here! I found more!" A Garlean soldier – pureblooded, by the looks of him – appeared at the mouth of the tunnel, but a knife blossomed in his neck and he fell before A'zaela could dispatch him. Marguerite Lafontaine appeared behind him, but she staggered and clutched her head in pain.

"Granny Moss is correct," she said. "I've… done my best to secure you a safe exit, but…"

"Marguerite!" Gaelle Troyes, in her long, heavy coat, ran up to the other woman's side and helped support her. "You've worn yourself thin. You should know better than to try and fight when plagued like this. How unlike you."

"We should go before more of them come," said Zulak. He had drawn his sword, but like most of them, he swayed on his feet.

A'zaela lowered her spear. "Wait, do you hear that?"

They all paused, and a moment later they heard the rumbling of yet another engine up above, but it didn't have the unnatural sound of Magitek to it. A'zaela ran toward the mouth of the tunnel, and Moss couldn't help but to follow her.

A deep red airship lowered over the ravine directly to the west of the Sandsea, not far from the tunnel's mouth. Unlike the Garlean ships, this one was Eorzean-made, emblazoned with the insignia for the Gullwings. As soon as it was low enough, a chocobo leapt from its deck, bearing a fully armed and armored Ashelia Riot on its back. She held her axe up high, yelled something, then charged right into the fray, cleaving a path to the group of fighters Sylvan led.

Edge was right behind her, leaping into battle wearing nothing but his leather tunic as armor and cesti as his weapons, bashing soldiers with his fists and throwing them over his shoulders. A figure in white with a head of blond hair was at his side, who Moss recognized as Baithin Alberona of the Gullwings through the smoke and darkness.

"It's Ashe!" A'zaela cheered. "And that ship looks like our escape route!"

"Let's hurry to it," Moss said, agreeing.

The party of mages and A'zaela scurried out of the tunnel and into the battle. The worst of it seemed to have moved from the front of the Sandsea to the Brimming Heart – the center of the Goblet – so they were able to pass with only a few scuffles. Moss tried not to look at the bodies in the street, Garlean or not. She didn't want to see anyone she recognized. Nonetheless, she uttered a word of prayer for them all.

A'zaela, leading the way, paused when their path brought them to lower ground, behind the ruins of some poor adventurer's house. "Um… I'm not sure this is the right way," she said, looking around. "Everyone, wait here! I'll look from up above." Using her spear as leverage, she leapt to the level above them, scaling a short wall to the roof of a house that still stood.

"What do you see?" Gaelle questioned.

"Sylv and the others are down near the Brimming Heart!" she called to them. "Looks like they've met up with some Flame troops and other groups of adventurers, but there aren't many of them. Oh!" Moss could see her grin even from down below. "Bear just whacked some soldier good! And Sasaxia jumped on top of a Magitek reaper and took it out! Wow, and Lanette's basically leading a whole flock of chocobos! Oh, I hope mine's okay…"

"Do you see Ashe and Edge? Is that airship still there?" Mariuselt asked with a grunt.

A'zaela jumped back down to them. "I did – they're in front of the Sandsea. And the airship's only a bit further down the road from there, docked over the ravine. And I saw three people heading to it." She looked at Moss. "Granny, one of them was huge and wore a full suit of armor. I think it was Styrm – no one else really had time to change for battle."

 _Thank the Twelve_ , she thought. "Then I suppose he is lucky he wears armor most of the time," she said. "Let's continue."

The descending pathway led to another tunnel, leading Granny to curse the maze of streets that made up the Goblet. Thankfully, this one turned out to be a shortcut to the perimeter, and they came out near the ravine. Further ahead, to their left, she could see Styrmyrgan alongside two women, both in red. One of them wore a long dress while the other was in a Maelstrom uniform.  _Azionne and Blaetlona_ , Moss thought.  _You're both mages. You shouldn't be fighting_.

A group of four Garlean soldiers surrounded the three Riskbreakers, which Azionne tried fending off with her axe. Her swings were slow and heavy, so unlike her usual vicious cleaves. Styrmyrgan rushed forward, bashing one of the soldiers with his shield, while Blaetlona stabbed with a halberd she must have gained in the battle. As far as Moss knew, this was her grandson's first real fight, so she rushed to them as A'zaela leapt ahead to offer help.

Azionne staggered when she was forced to parry an axe-blow from one of the soldiers, but A'zaela plunged her lance into the woman before she could strike the black mage. Zulak managed to disarm another just as he was about to attack Blaetlona's exposed back, and Moss watched Styrmyrgan stab the man before he could reclaim his weapons. As the soldier collapsed to the ground, her grandson froze in place, eyes wide.

"We must continue!" Eleanor Collins, an arcanist, shouted. "More Garleans are coming up on our rear! Though I don't think they've noticed us yet…"

Moss almost hugged Styrmyrgan right there. "Thank Nymeia you're all right," she said.

He seemed to notice her for the first time, lowering his bloodied sword. "Gran!"

Blaetlona leaned on her spear, panting. "This aether sickness really isn't fair," she said. "Did you all see Ashe? She's back!"

"Why aren't you three with everyone else?" Mariuselt asked as they hurried down the street.

Azionne scowled. "We were separated. We must regroup with Ashelia before the Garleans take that airship."

Moss nodded. "I agree." She was about to say more, but the shouting of another person from a ledge up above interrupted her.

"Hey, wait!" The sound of the voice made all of them reach for their weapons, mage or not, but Moss stopped herself when she recognized Baithin dropping his bow and putting his hands up in fear.

"Stand down," she told the assembled Riskbreakers. "He's a friend."

Once all the weapons that were pointed at him lowered, he turned around and beckoned to someone else. "Edge, Ashe, I found some of them!"

Ashe appeared next, standing next to her chocobo, who walked with a limp. They all went up to meet her, finding themselves in front of the Sandsea. Edge stood a little ways away, on guard, but he offered a nod in greeting. Moss watched the Sandsea burn, feeling a twinge of sadness as the balcony crumbled and set the trees in their front yard aflame. She forced herself to look away from the mansion – it was only her home for the past few months. It made her hope her family in Gridania was safe.

"There's no time," Ashe said, looking over them all. "We've managed to secure this block by surprising them, but not for long."

"We can't go too far from the airship," said Baithin. "Gogo's in there all by himself." Moss imagined the young Lalafell hiding in the engine room and felt pity for him. A battlefield was no place for that boy.

"Then let's board!" said Blaetlona. "We'll get all the others, provide aerial support… The Garlean warships all left, too!"

"They've headed north," said Azionne. "To Ul'dah."

Ashe nodded, looking at her. "Which is all the more reason why we can't just flee, even if we have mages with us."

"So what'll we do?" A'zaela asked.

"Azionne, I want you to go to Ala Mhigo with Edge and Baithin," Ashe said. "If the Ascians are truly there, they might have the Lunatic Pandora with them. You three can end all of this. You know the most about them."

"What, we're still doing that?" Edge asked, lowering his fists. "Don't you think the plans should change in light of all this?" He gestured to the ruin all around them, incredulous.

Ashe shook her head. "Not at all. If anything, it's even more important now. The Garleans will be attacking anywhere they can. We missed our opportunity to strike preemptively. Now you three can work alongside the Ala Mhigan Resistance and strike back when and where they'll least expect it."

"How do we even know that bringing that Lunatic Pandora back here will solve the magic problem?" Marguerite asked, flipping her hair back.

"We don't," said Baithin. "But it's worth a try!"

Styrmyrgan stepped forward. "Let me go, too! I want to help. You've never let me go out on any missions before, so all I've been good for is fixing up the house!" He gestured to the Sandsea. "But I can't do that anymore. Please, Grand Steward. I can fight."

"No," she said flatly. "This mission is too important."

"But… But I've been training! And it's all paid off. I finally fought Garleans here, for the first time. And I did really well." He clenched his gauntlets. "Please. I've become strong. I can do this."

"He really did fight well," said Blaetlona, smiling. "I felt safe battling alongside him."

Ashe and Moss locked gazes, then. Smoke swirled all around them, and the clamor of battle became distant. Both of them, Moss knew, were recalling a conversation they had just weeks ago, when Styrmyrgan first joined the Riskbreakers without Moss' knowledge.

" _Please, never send my grandson on a dangerous mission,"_ Moss had told her.  _"He's one of the few people I have left in this world."_

"I don't have time for this," Ashe said. "Baithin, Azionne, please board."

Uneasily, Baithin did so, adjusting his sword belt and holding his bow tightly. "I'm really sorry about all this," he said to the Riskbreakers.

Azionne hefted her axe over her shoulder. With her dress, the weapon looked so out of place in her hands. "Very well," she said.

Edge hesitated. "Ashe, we could probably use all the help we could get. And I can protect Styrm, don't worry!"

Wondering if she would regret this decision her whole life, Moss stepped forward. "If my grandson wishes to go, I'll go as well. Someone needs to look after that bunch, and it may as well be me."

Ashe looked at her again, and then looked at Styrmyrgan, and sighed in defeat. "If you must. Go, quickly, before the Garleans shoot down the airship."

Blaetlona hugged Styrmyrgan, armor and all. "You be careful, now, Styrm! I know you'll get the Lunatic Pandora back!"

In spite of everything that happened, her grandson blushed. "Yes, Lieutenant! You be safe as well! I will try my best!"

Baithin leapt to the deck of the airship and lowered a ladder for the others to climb. "C'mon! I can see another group of soldiers headed this way!"

"Come, you foolish romantic," Moss called to her grandson. Her head hurt so, so much and her heart was heavy. "We've no time to waste."

Edge was the last to board. "Ashe… I can't leave without you!"

"Go, hurry! You have to!" the Grand Steward urged him. "I'll help A'z get the mages to safety, and then we have to regroup with Sylv and the others!"

"Edge, we have to go!" Baithin called to him, once Moss was safely on board. Styrmyrgan climbed up the ladder behind her.

"I will go below deck to tell Gogonegi we're leaving," Azionne announced, disappearing into the hatch.

Edge hugged Ashe close, saying something to her that Moss couldn't hear, and the two shared a deep kiss. Ashe was the first to pull away, but even so, Edge hesitated to board even as the airship's engines roared and the rotors spun, preparing to ascend. Just as it began to leave, Edge jumped to the ladder, hanging onto it as the Garleans fired shots into the air, which bounced harmlessly off of the hull.

Moss watched the Riskbreakers charge into battle against the new wave of troops, hoping it wouldn't be the last time she saw any of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, so from here on out it'll be almost entirely OCs and areas of Hydaelyn that we haven't gotten to in game yet. I'll stick as closely to the lore as possible, but I took plenty of creative liberties and built a Hydaelyn of my own. I'm going to post a reading guide to go along with this story onto my tumblr (Username "Cogflox") that'll have a list of the characters and other info. Perhaps also short summaries of each chapter in case anyone needs a refresher.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please review!


	4. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reeling after their flight from the Sandsea and the possibility that they may never see the Riskbreakers again, Styrmyrgan and the others struggle with what to do next as their airship flies to Ala Mhigo and the Resistance.

# Hydaelyn's Wing

## Part 1: The Heart of the Empire

### Chapter 3

In the old Roegadyn language, "Styrmyrgan" meant "Star-Morning."

Styrm supposed that was why he liked mornings best. Especially mornings like this one – the whole sky was aflame in pink and orange, the stars just beginning to fade to the light of day. Back home, his family, including Granny, would call him "Styr," for "star," but the Lieutenant called him "Styrm" instead. He liked when she had started calling him that. It sounded like "storm," and made him sound stronger.

Styrm sat in front of the window in the  _Fahrenheit_ 's bridge, just admiring the dawn and praying that his friends in the Riskbreakers made it out of the battle okay.

All through the night, the six of them stayed awake. Everyone even stayed in the bridge together, except for the occasions when the Lalafell Gogonegi would leave to check on something in the engine room. Most of the time, the only sounds were the rumbling of the ship's engines and the rotors spinning in the bridge.

"We should be getting to Gyr Abania later in the afternoon," said Baithin, at the ship's helm. The helm was set at the lowest point of the bridge, facing the enormous window, and Styrm sat to the right of it. Though he wasn't a Riskbreaker, Baithin also seemed to take the battle at the Goblet hard. According to Granny, who was a friend of Baithin's, he had occasionally visited the Sandsea. "Everyone should take the chance to get some rest."

The woman in red, Azionne, had spent nearly the entire night staring out the other window, on the helm's left side. She turned her head when Baithin spoke. "Easier said than done, with this aether sickness. We've just flown over Mor Dhona. Couldn't you feel the pain intensifying there?" Though Styrm had only just met her the day before, she intimidated him. Somehow, she managed to clean herself up already.

Baithin scratched his head. "Now that you mention it, yes. I felt like I was going to be sick until we got over the Shroud. Does that mean we'll feel the effects of the aether sickness less the further we get away from Mor Dhona?" Even though Styrm wasn't a mage, he hoped that was the case. He wasn't sure how much more of it his grandmother could take. Even Lieutenant Blaetlona had to rely on  _him_ , of all people, during the battle in the Goblet.

He was proud of the fact that he managed not to drop his sword, even once.

"Let us hope so," said Azionne, crossing her arms. "Do the Dullwings keep any spare weapons on board? I had to leave my staff behind."

"Gullwings," Baithin corrected, but she didn't seem to hear, or care. "But yeah. You can try the cargo hold."

Granny spoke up next, standing by the world map the Gullwings kept on the back wall of the bridge. "Wait. Before you go, we must decide on our next course of action."

Gogonegi, keeping himself busy by inspecting one of the rotors, stopped what he was doing. "Aren't we just going to Ala Mhigo to gather information?" The engineer, youngest of them all, tried his best to stay out of everyone's way. Styrm could relate.

Baithin shook his head. "Not anymore, Gogo. Sorry, I know you wanted a bit of an easy mission, but things got a lot more serious."

Gogo bit his lip and held his head with both of his hands, as if trying to keep himself from getting dizzy. "Ohh… Why did I agree to come?"

Granny continued. Styrm wasn't accustomed to seeing her so serious – he only knew her as his bumbling, nurturing, and extremely embarrassing grandmother. Now, she was like the woman she used to tell him stories about – Whispering Moss, the adventurer. "With the Garlean attack on Eorzean soil, it has become a necessity to fix this magic crisis as soon as possible. We may not be able to count on the help of the city-states or the grand companies, since they will be focused on defending their own borders."

"We don't need them," said Azionne, scowling. "All we have to do is destroy the Ascians."  _Ascians_. That word again. Styrm first heard them mentioned in the emergency meeting the day before, but every time they had been brought up he felt chills down his spine.

"Destroy them?" Granny asked her, frowning. "We don't even know who they are."

"They are beings not of this world," Azionne said. At that, everyone turned to face her – even Edge, who until that point sat in the corner, not interacting with anyone. "The only way they can even come into our world is by possessing a host."

"Are they Voidsent? How do you know that?" Baithin asked.

"No, they are not of the Void," she said. "Though the Voidsent are connected to them, which is how I knew about the Lunatic Pandora." She paused for a moment, staring back out the window. "I know because I had been possessed by one in the past. And if any of you repeat that to anyone else, I'll kill you."

Styrm recoiled. "Of course not, Lady Azionne!"

She stared at him almost accusingly. "Who are you? Why did you even come with us, anyway?"

He averted his eyes. "Er…" In truth, he was not sure what he could do to help them. All of them, with the exception of Gogo, it seemed, were experienced fighters and he had only just participated in his first real battle. Nonetheless, it felt exhilarating, and it made him feel brave to fight alongside the Lieutenant. With Blaetlona, he even come across Azionne fending off some soldiers alone, saving her before she got too overwhelmed. When he told the Grand Steward he wanted to go on this mission, it was more out of impulse than anything, born out of begging her for the past few weeks for a chance to fight some Garleans. Now he felt his level of bravery rapidly declining.

Granny put her hands on her hips. "He's Styr, my grandson. He'll make himself useful."

Azionne raised an eyebrow. "With that large bulk and heavy armor, I suppose he could make a decent meat shield." Styrm almost winced.

"No need to be harsh," said Edge, speaking for the first time since they left the Goblet. His voice was lower and more gruff than usual. Out of everyone here, Edge was the only other person Styrm knew before yesterday, other than his grandmother. He admired the Highlander. "So… Our mission changed from just investigating to stealing the Lunatic Pandora back from the Ascians?"

"Assuming the Ascians who stole it are the ones who've been seen in Ala Mhigo, yeah," said Baithin, nodding. " _And_  this all depends on if bringing that thing back will even solve the problem."

"Don't think like that," said Granny. "It's a goal, however slim the chances of it succeeding may be. We need that much."

"Why should it be up to us to get that magic artifact back? It sounds really dangerous," Gogo said quietly, folding his hands in front of him and staring at his feet.

Azionne ran her fingers through her hair and stretched. "I do not particularly care about saving the realm. All I want is to destroy the Ascians. Our goals just happen to coincide."

Baithin frowned. "I just like when my magic works the right way, honestly."

Neither Edge nor Granny seemed willing to offer Gogo an answer. Edge went back to brooding – which was unlike him, as far as Styrm knew, but he honestly couldn't blame him. Granny looked between Edge and Baithin, as if expecting them to say something. When the silence lengthened and neither of them did, Styrm took a deep breath and stood. "Because it's the right thing to do, Master Gogo," he said, rubbing his head awkwardly. The Lalafell blushed at the title. "Our friends fought all through the night. Without their magic, they could die. The Garleans would win this war. And who knows what those Ascians want with that artifact? I think... We're the only ones in any position to do anything about it."

Everyone looked at him as he spoke and he felt his face rapidly reddening. Azionne scoffed at him. "How noble. Naïve, as well."

Styrm shrugged. "Perhaps it is. But the Warriors of Light have not stepped up to do it, have they? So someone has to. It may as well be the Riskbreakers. And, er, the Gullwings."

His grandmother nodded to him approvingly. "Well said, my boy. Fumbled in the last bit, but overall not bad."

Styrm blushed again. "Thanks, Gran."

When no one said anything else, she resumed her examination of the world map. "Baithin, do be sure to fly us out of range of Castrum Oriens, dear. They have been known to shoot down airships passing through Garlean territory."

"What about when we get to Ala Mhigo?" Baithin asked, glancing back towards her.

"I don't know," she admitted. "That is something Ashelia and Inga would have had to arrange with the contact in the Resistance."

Edge stood and joined Granny at the map. "My mother always told me not to get involved with the Resistance," he said. "But I always wanted to train as a monk to keep my culture alive in Eorzea."

Azionne folded her arms again. "Your point?"

"The one who trained me was a former Fist of Rhalgr," Edge continued. "And he was an active member of the Resistance. I haven't seen him in over a year, but he told me to meet him at a place outside of Ala Mhigo called the Tomb of the Forgotten Queen if I ever wanted to join up with them."

Baithin scratched his head. "Your master told you the location of the hideout of one of the biggest resistance movements against the Garleans just like that?"

"It is not likely to be their main hideout," said Granny, folding her arms. "With an organization as large as theirs, it is quite possible it's one of their meeting places for new recruits. Still rather secretive, but not as damaging if it is discovered by the enemy." Styrm blinked in surprise. He never knew his grandmother was knowledgeable about that sort of thing.

Edge pointed to a place on the map within Gyr Abania, the region surrounding Ala Mhigo. "I think it's over here, just a few malms south of Ala Mhigo in the Tavnazian Wildlands."

"Both of those places sound scary," Gogo said, hugging his body. Styrm agreed, but didn't say so.

"I suppose it is as good of a destination as any," said Azionne, striding toward the door. "Now, I am going to rest and prepare."

Baithin grinned, and even Styrm felt heartened at the first smile he saw since they left the battle. "All right! Looks like we've got a plan!"

* * *

The terrain of the Tavnazian Wildlands was just as the name suggested. Jagged, twisting rock formations dotted the grassy landscape. Enormous trees even clutched some of the land in their roots. Styrm spotted one tree wrapped around a spiraling rock formation as if wielding a spear, while another grew on top of a stony arch with roots that reached for the ground far underneath it. He could even see the top of another tree poking out of a deep ravine. It was as if the gods used the Tavnazian Wildlands as their playground, designing it however they saw fit.

Far to the north, he could see Ala Mhigo as well, but from this distance it was naught but imposing walls, parts of which Garlean-made.

The Tomb of the Forgotten Queen rested in the middle of a forest on top of a high plateau. No trees grew in the immediate area around the tomb, but Styrm didn't think Baithin would be able to land the airship there. The tomb itself was shaped like a coliseum, though it was little more than a ruin of white weathered stone. Dozens of crumbling arches circled an empty courtyard in the center, so Baithin was forced to land the  _Fahrenheit_  there since they didn't have much of a choice.

Styrm climbed down the ladder from the deck, looking around. Two cracked statues of bull-men stood as sentinels in the tomb's courtyard, and other than the debris there wasn't much else. Long grass grew through gaps in the stone floor. Outside of the arches, a high wall encircled the whole area, making Styrm feel like they sat in a large white basin. "It does not look like there's anyone here," he said, helping his grandmother climb down with him.

"The Resistance likely would not keep sentries here all the time," said Granny. "All we can do is wait. They're the only ones who can get us into the city."

Azionne was next. She held out a hand, igniting a small fireball in her palm. "Looks like we're far enough away from Mor Dhona now. My magic seems to be working correctly."

Granny smiled. "My head hurts much less, as well." Styrm exhaled with relief at that.

"We should scout out the area," Edge said. "And be on your guard. It's very possible a Garlean lookout in the city saw our ship landing here."

"Good idea," said Baithin, sliding down the ladder. "Edge, Azionne, Granny, let's go look around. Styrm, you stay with Gogo and keep an eye on the ship."

Styrm saluted, though he was not sure why.  _Habit, I suppose_. "Yes, ser!"

Baithin made a face like he tasted something bad. "No need to call me 'ser,' you know." He led the four of them away, and with little else to do, Styrm climbed back onto the airship.

Gogonegi scrambled back and forth down the short hall between the bridge and engine room, which was located in the back of the ship. With the urgency he showed, it was as if they were still in flight and he was trying to prevent a crash landing.

"Master Gogo, is something the matter?" Styrm asked, watching him pass with a handful of tools Styrm couldn't name.

Gogo lowered his goggles over his eyes. "Baithin really didn't make the best landing," he said. "I'm afraid he might have damaged something." Styrm thought the landing was rather smooth, but he didn't say as much. He didn't have much experience riding airships, anyway.

"Oh," he said. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Gogo pursed his lips for a moment, thinking. "The schematics for the landing system should be down below in the cargo hold. Could you go and get it for me, please? There should be a crate with a bunch of rolled up pieces of paper. Just find the one labeled 'Diagram Number 16BWE.' Don't confuse it with 'Diagram Number 16EWB,' since they look similar but that one's for hull integrity. I should have remembered to bring that whole crate up to the engine room…"

Styrm struggled to remember. Gogo seemed to talk a lot more when it was related to the airship. "Oh. Yes, right. I'll be right back." He moved to the hatch, located in front of the door to the engine room.

For a Roegadyn like him, the cargo hold was tiny and very cramped. He had to bend low to move around, which made maneuvering around the crates of weapons and supplies rather difficult. It was dark, too – the only source of light was from the lanterns shining down the open hatch. He spotted the crate with the rolled up papers in the far corner, and he made his way over to it. "Diagram 16BEW… Or was it 16WEB? Curses, Styr…" he mumbled to himself.

One of the weapon crates shifted, causing a metal pole to clash against a spear.

Styrm jumped. "Master Gogo, is that you?" He squinted through the darkness, spotting a shadow dancing on the edge of his vision. He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Show yourself!"

In the corner, between two shelves, yellow eyes stared back at him, reflecting off of the light from up above. He tried to draw his sword, but he slammed his elbow against a shelf full of engineering tools, knocking the whole thing over with a loud crash. The shadow bolted toward the hatch.

"Wait! Foul creature!" he called after it, reaching out a hand. It made the shadow stop and change direction just as it hit the light, and Styrm realized it wasn't a creature at all – she was a Miqo'te. Easily eluding his grasp, the girl leapt up the short flight of stairs. Styrm fumbled after her.

By the time he got out of the cargo hold, she was already on the ladder leading up to the deck. Gogo pressed himself against the wall in the corner, breathing heavily.

"Wahh! Who was that?" he asked.

Styrm ran past him. "A stowaway! I'll catch her!" Though when he managed to climb up the ladder to the deck, she was already on the ground below. "Everyone! Catch that girl!" he shouted, shuffling down after her. By the time he made it off the airship, he was out of breath, but he clanked along in his armor as he ran across the courtyard nonetheless. The others only made it as far as the arches lining the perimeter, but looked back at his shouts.

The stowaway dashed past Azionne, who looked like she was seriously considering casting a spell to blast the girl to pieces. The girl reached one of the archways, but then seemed to realize the wall outside of them blocked her escape. She turned and spotted Baithin with his broadsword drawn, but she easily ducked underneath his warning blow and sprinted past, the other Miqo'te hot on her heels.

Edge leapt in her way next, aiming punches and grabs anywhere he could reach, but the girl kept dodging, leading the two in a sort of dance. She drew a dagger at her belt, but Edge stopped her with his own set of knives. The girl took the chance to duck in the space between his legs, leading Baithin to nearly crash into Edge.

Looking back at them fumbling to reach her with the hint of a smirk on her round face, the stowaway didn't notice Granny appearing in front of her from behind an arch, nor did she see when the old Roegadyn thwacked her over the head with her staff, knocking her to the ground.

"Nice one, Granny!" Edge said, running up to the old woman as she examined the girl on the ground.

"Yeah! Remind me not to mess with you!" said Baithin, grinning, as he and Styrm managed to catch up.

"Who is that? One of the Resistance?" Azionne asked, walking over calmly. Even Gogonegi trailed behind her, curious.

Styrm struggled to catch his breath, using the opportunity to get a good look at the girl himself. She was small and thin, perhaps just a few years younger than Styrm, who was twenty-five. Her magenta hair was chopped short to a bob, but ruffled in every direction, and her skin was dark, with a tear-shaped marking on her forehead. A Keeper of the Moon. "I do not believe so," he said. "I found her in the cargo hold. She is a stowaway."

"So she boarded at the Goblet," said Edge. "Or maybe even earlier."

Baithin scratched his nose as his ears twitched. "I dunno. She seems kind of familiar, actually."

Granny knelt down next to her, beginning to cast a basic healing spell. "Why don't we ask her, hm? Everyone, be on your guard."

The girl's eyes fluttered open as the magic washed over her, but before she could say anything, Baithin crouched down in front of her. "It's probably not a good idea to move. We've got an angry mage with us who isn't above making people she doesn't like explode."

Azionne smirked at her.

The stowaway rubbed her head, wincing, and sat up. "Ouch, that hurt. I think I'm more afraid of the hag with the staff, actually."

Granny laughed. "Now, now, dear. That's not a nice thing to say about Azionne!"

Azionne's smirk vanished. "Don't test me, Moss."

"Who are you? What were you doing on our airship?" Edge asked, cracking his knuckles. To Styrm, the action came across as threatening, even though he always saw Edge doing that out of habit.

"I'm not some Garlean spy or anything, if that's what you're thinking," she said, looking around at them all. "My name's Naya. Can I stand? It's not like I can go anywhere, you guys landed the ship in some prison or something, didn't you? Where are we, anyway?"

Edge rubbed his chin contemplatively. "Sounds like something a Garlean spy would say…"

Baithin's tail straightened. "Naya?" He looked around at the rest of the group. "A couple of weeks ago, there was an attempted theft of Gullwing property by someone claiming to want to join us. Another Gullwing, Nathan, managed to stop the thief. He said her name was Naya." He looked back at the stowaway, eyes narrowed. "And you match the description."

Styrm grabbed the hilt of his sword. "So she's a thief and a stowaway!"

Naya put up both her hands, eyes wide. "Wait! Okay, okay, you got me. But I'm not here to steal anything, I swear! I was actually back in the Lavender Beds the other day because I wanted to apologize."

Gogo, standing behind Styrm, tilted his head. "Apologize? Nathan was really shaken by that! I'm the one who found him afterward!"

She looked at him. "Yes, apologize." She put a hand over her heart. "I've decided I want to turn over a new leaf. No more thieving life for me. And to prove it, I'll tell you my real name! It's Ndai."

"What were you doing on the airship, then?" Azionne asked. "I can smell a liar malms away. Do you need some extra incentive to loosen your tongue?" A tiny flame crackled between her fingers. Styrm suspected that she quite liked having full control over her magic again.

Ndai gave her and uneasy grin. "Well, I needed a place to sleep, didn't I? I was trying to get the courage to approach the Gullwings' house again. So I'm sleeping down in the cargo hold, you see, and then I hear the engines starting! Before I could sneak off the ship, we were already in the air. And then the next thing I knew, I found myself in the middle of a battle! Scary stuff, I tell you, so I stayed on board. And now I'm here. Really, I've done nothing wrong."

Styrm struggled to remember where he had heard that name before. "Ahh! Ndai Nayatto! She's a rogue wanted by the Wood Wailers and Adders for petty crime throughout the city and connections to the Coeurlclaws!" Growing up in Gridania, he always wanted to join the Twin Adders, like his parents, so he liked to keep track of wanted criminals throughout the city.

"Hey, hey!" she protested, smoothing out her pink cotton shirt. "Like I said, I want to turn over a new leaf! And did you just quote my wanted poster?"

"So what should we do with her?" Azionne wondered, fixing the girl with a stare.

"I guess we might as well let her go. She could make her way to Ala Mhigo or back to Gridania, I guess," said Baithin, shrugging.

"Ala Mhigo?" she asked, eyes wide. "No way! The Garleans will catch me!"

"Not our problem," said Edge.

"It is now." The low voice, coming from behind Styrm, nearly made him jump. He spun and reached for his sword, nearly dropping it when he noticed the amount of people appearing all around the ruins. At least a dozen people stood with weapons drawn, some even on top of the still-standing arches. The speaker, a man with a knife and blond hair pulled back by a bandana, sauntered over to them. "Drop your weapons. All of you are coming with us, and you've got some explaining to do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right-o, Ndai's my seventh FFXIV character. From here on out, I hope things will be easier to follow.
> 
> This chapter was lots of fun to write! I love getting into Styrm's head. Part of him was inspired by FF9's Steiner, so him calling Gogonegi "Master Gogo" is a bit of a callback to that. :)
> 
> Would love to hear some feedback!


	5. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group manages to reach Ala Mhigo, but they find themselves in the Resistance's captivity.

# Hydaelyn's Wing

## Part 1: The Heart of the Empire

### Chapter 4

Baithin calmly placed his broadsword on the ground, and then slowly removed the bow and quiver strapped to his back. Putting his hands up in the air, he took note of the situation as best he could.

Six archers stood well beyond the range of Baithin and the others, aiming their bows from atop the ruin's outer walls and even a few of the arches. Three rugged swordsmen stood behind the Midlander man in the bandana who pointed a knife at them. Baithin hoped they were from the Resistance, but it was equally likely that this was a group of bandits.

When the group had all dropped their weapons (even Azionne, who surprised Baithin by dropping her staff without complaint), the man in the bandana gestured to the people behind him.  _So he's their leader_ , Baithin surmised. That was good to know, he supposed. "Tie 'em up."

Azionne's nostrils flared. "I refuse to be bound like some common brigand! Don't you dare approach me with that filthy rope, or I'll burn off your fingers."

Edge groaned. "Azionne…"

Baithin took the opportunity to examine his allies (and the stowaway). In situations like these, it was good to see who could handle themselves well. Edge and Granny, as expected, kept their eyes on as many of the threats as possible. Edge seemed tense, ready to spring into action any moment if he had to. On the contrary, Granny appeared completely at ease.  _Both very reliable_ , Baithin judged. Styrm and Gogo only had eyes for the knife in the leader's hand, as if expecting it to stab them at any moment. Gogo even attached himself to Styrm's leg, but not before placing his own weapon on the ground – a double-barreled handgun.  _Now where did he get that_? The stowaway, Ndai, just offered her wrists with a sigh, as if she was used to this.

"Feisty one, huh?" the leader asked, giving Azionne a cocky grin. "We've got a proper Ishgardian lady on our hands here, judging by accent. I wonder what you're doing all the way out by Ala Mhigo?"

Azionne rolled her eyes. "Do not play the fool with me. Based on this ambush, it is clear you have been here for quite a while already. You must have heard one of us mention the Resistance."

The leader twirled his knife. "And what would the Resistance want with a ragtag group like yours? Especially some daft old bat?"

Granny clucked her tongue. "Don't be rude. Azionne isn't daft."

Azionne glanced at her, pursing her lips. "Perhaps I should let them skewer you with arrows."

"A brutish threat like that is very unbecoming of you, dear."

Baithin figured it was up to him to get them out of the situation. If these people were bandits, their things would have been stolen already. "We're all from a company called the Riskbreakers," he lied. It was probably easier to just include himself and Gogo in with them. Better not to get the Gullwings officially involved. "Well, except Ndai. She stowed away on our airship. Do what you like with her."

"Hey!" she protested.

The leader sheathed his knife, grinning. None of the others put their weapons away, though. "The Riskbreakers, huh? We've heard all about you guys over here. Well, well, if what you say is true, the higher-ups would be  _very_  interested in meeting you."

"We're just looking for a way into the city," Edge said. He kept his hands in the air. "We have information. And a mission. My master, a Resistance member, told me about this place once."

"If you're in our city and it has to do with Garleans, then it's our business to know," the man said. "Stand down, everyone. Looks like we've got potential allies, for now. It's your lucky day, Riskbreakers. We're bringing you into the city – but on our leash."

* * *

 

A tunnel system ran beneath the ruins of the Tomb of the Forgotten Queen, as it turned out. The Resistance members led them to a torch lit chamber, where an enormous statue of a regal queen stood on a plinth holding a blade as long as she was, flanked by a pair of bull men that matched the statues outside.

"Queen Hilda's tomb and the twin knights," said the man in the bandana, who had introduced himself as Cole. Behind the statue, he revealed a winding staircase cut from the dark stone around it. Baithin supposed it went all the way to Ala Mhigo. "Stay close – this place is an utter labyrinth for anyone who doesn't know it. Men have been known to get themselves lost for years at a time."

"Spooky…" said Ndai, reluctantly walking forward with her hands bound in front of her. She was forced to come with them since they considered her a risk and possible spy for the Garleans.

Baithin walked with his hands behind his head. Being Riskbreakers afforded them the perk of not being bound, it seemed, though all of the Resistance members stayed on guard. "Her Royal Highness isn't as forgotten as the name implies, huh?"

Cole's face, barely lined with light brown stubble, turned grim. "Forgotten by most Mhigans, maybe. But not me. I make a point to remember as much of our culture as possible, especially the parts ruined by the Mad King and the Garleans. Old Hilda was the last king's great-grandmother."

"Theodoric?" Granny asked. "I've seen him once, many years ago. Handsome man."

"Aye," said Cole. "I see this place as a memorial to all of the royal family, if truth be told. I knew Prince Wilhelm personally. He was Theodoric's son, even if he didn't agree with dear old Dad's views at the end, and founder of the Resistance. But the Garleans found him years back and took him out with his entire family, including the children."

"Why the children? What did they do?" Edge asked, his voice sharp.

"Couldn't tell ya," said Cole. "Guess the Garleans are just monsters. So, what finally brings the Riskbreakers out here? Word is that it's led by a Mhigan lass herself, so I expected this much earlier. We could've coordinated attacks, you know."

Styrm, clanking along behind them in his armor, spoke up, voice higher than usual. He was just a bit too large for the size of the tunnel, so he had to bend down and even squeeze through certain parts. "We have received word that two new legati have come to Eorzea," he said.  _I might have to start calling him Clanky_ , Baithin thought.

"And that they may be connected to the recent magic crisis that happened in Mor Dhona," said Azionne, staring right into the flames of the torch wielded by the Resistance member in front of her. "Particularly the black-robed mages that have been sighted with them."

"We've heard about that crisis," said Cole. "Your city-states didn't take it well."

Baithin dropped his hands to his sides. "What happened?"

Cole scratched his chin. "I'll hold that bit of info over your heads, if you don't mind. I'll leave it to the leaders to explain."

Edge frowned. "So what can you tell us?"

Cole shrugged, and then sighed. "Still got a few malms to the city. Guess I might as well loosen my lips a little bit to pass the time."

"It would be appreciated," said Granny.

"Our people haven't been able to figure out a single thing about the black-robed mages," Cole said. "One's a Lalafell male and the other is an Elezen lady, from the looks of 'em, but that's it. It's the strangest thing. They just appeared one day with the two legati, Terra xia Rozarria and Celes xia Lux, and began speaking to the common people about 'a new age.' We just got into a new Astral era so we don't need another Calamity, thank you very much."

"How peculiar," said Azionne, running a hand through her hair. Shaved on one side, she always looked menacing to Baithin, but the flickering shadows of the torchlight didn't help matters. "They have never been known to show themselves publicly at all."

"Since they've been here, they got rid of the viceroy who's ruled the city for the past few years. Miserable git, but the one they replaced him with is even worse," Cole continued, his face darkening. "He torched a whole neighborhood in the Undercity in an attempt to smoke us Resistance people out on his very first day. Been hunting down anyone with even the slightest suspected connection to us, too. Hasn't been a happy time in Ala Mhigo these past few weeks."

"Well that's great," said Ndai, tail flicking in irritation. "Now my life's in danger for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. What gives?"

Cole scowled at her. "You've got a lot more to worry about, lass."

Eventually, after winding through a complicated network of tunnels, Baithin heard running water. Without the Resistance, they never would have been able to make it here. "A sewer system?" he asked. "Then we're close, aren't we?"

"That's right," said Cole, stopping and turning to them. "And now, for security reasons, I'd like all of you to close your eyes."

Baithin did so, expecting this, but Azionne made a slashing motion with her hand. "Do not listen – one of them is channeling a spell!"

Apparently, the Resistance members had seen that coming, because Azionne collapsed to the ground, being the target of at least three Sleep spells. As Baithin felt the charge of aether overcome him, his vision darkened.  _Really, now… We never would've found our way here anyway…_

* * *

 

When he awoke, he found himself in a tiny square room with no windows, lit by a dim lantern hanging from the ceiling. He sat up from his spot on the hard floor, stretched his sore muscles, and looked around.

A simple cot was pressed against one wall, on top of which Granny Moss snored peacefully. He was glad that the Resistance members were at least kind enough to give her the cot. Gogo sat next to it on a wooden crate, yawning but otherwise fully awake and nervous as ever. Azionne, clenching her dress in her fists, paced in front of the plain wooden door, which surprised Baithin because he expected her to have burned it down long before. Styrm, on the other hand, stood perfectly still against one wall, while Edge practiced his squats in the corner. Aside from that, the room was completely bare. He wondered where that girl Ndai was, but quickly dismissed her from his mind. She wasn't one of them.

"Morning, sunshine," Edge greeted. He seemed to be in a better mood. Baithin supposed it was because they were in Ala Mhigo – or, at least, he hoped they were. "You slept through the whole night."

Baithin scratched behind his ears, grinning sheepishly. "I did? Sorry. Guess I was more tired than I thought." He was the only one who could pilot an airship, after all, and he hadn't slept since Ashe and Edge originally fetched him. "Where are we?"

"I'm guessing the Undercity in Ala Mhigo," said Edge. Baithin wondered if that meant they were underground. It certainly felt like it. "We all woke up here. A few Resistance people dropped in for visits, but they wouldn't tell us anything and don't want us to leave. Styrm, Granny, and I did everything we could to keep Azionne from forcing her way out of here."

"I hear you, you know," Azionne snapped. "They are lucky that they have potentially useful information for us. Otherwise I would not be nearly so acquiescent."

Baithin tried to hide his smirk. He knew Azionne longer than any of the others here – she used to be pretty bad, but now she was all talk. Her time in the Riskbreakers did her good, it seemed. He glanced over at the old Roegadyn. "Granny woke up already?"

"She did," said Styrm. "But she wanted to take a nap."

Baithin rubbed his stomach when it started rumbling. "I'm hungry. When are they coming back?"

Gogonegi squirmed in his seat. "They said in the morning. I think that's soon."

Azionne stopped pacing. "I've had enough waiting. I'm leaving." She grabbed the door handle, but as soon as she began to turn it, it opened from the outside, revealing Cole on the other side with a smug grin. "You were waiting for that, weren't you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said. Styrm went to go gently shake his grandmother awake. "Come down the hall when you're ready."

"Oh, we're ready now," said Granny, sitting up and stretching. Baithin could hear her bones cracking from where he stood. "What a rubbish bed. My back hurts now."

Cole led them down an equally featureless hall. Baithin flicked his ears and tail in irritation. He was already getting sick of tiny, cramped spaces. As they walked, he began hearing sounds of merriment and the clinking of plates, and even the tune of a badly played harp – one that sounded oddly familiar.

"Hey!" Baithin exclaimed, running ahead. "That's my harp!" He pulled open a door at the end of the hall, taking in the view of dozens of people seated around multiple tables. A Highlander woman with shaggy, shoulder-length brown hair played a jaunty tune on Baithin's harp while Ndai danced around her with drink in hand as everyone clapped and cheered. "Hey!"

"Wow, and here I was kinda worried about what you guys were doing to Ndai," said Edge, crossing his arms.

Cole beamed. "Oh, she turned out to be lots of fun. Fit right in with all of us."

Baithin pushed his way through the crowd. "Want to hear a  _real_  harp player?" He had left his harp on the  _Fahrenheit_  for a reason.

The woman playing his harp looked surprised when she saw him, but laughed. Everyone else quieted down. "Sure. I prefer dancing, anyway." She handed it back over, and Baithin inspected it immediately, giving the strings a few experimental plucks. The noise around them resumed when she began dancing.

"Oh, hi everyone," said Ndai. "Turns out these Resistance people aren't so bad! I think I wanna join!"

"Not so fast," said Cole, grinning again with his hands on his hips. "We usually have prospective members complete a few tasks before they can join us. That includes anyone from some other company that wants to work with us. See, we've got no reason to trust you yet, Riskbreakers or not."

Azionne crossed her arms. "We do not have time for your games. Bring us to an audience with your leaders."

The woman who had stolen Baithin's harp unfolded a metal fan she kept on her hip and fanned herself. "No one meets the leaders 'til Cole says so. Rules are rules."

Edge punched his palm. "What'll you have us do, then?"

"Split up, for one. We've got a few different things in mind for your group," said Cole. He gestured to Edge, Azionne, and Styrm. "You three, with me. We're headed to the Imperial Quarter. Mal, you take the others."

The Highlander woman nodded, folding her fan away. "Right." She pointed at Baithin and Gogo. "You guys will be with Ndai and me."

Ndai clapped her hands together. "Ooh! Mal, thanks for picking me."

Gogo put his hands behind his back and looked at the ground. "Um, if you're looking for people who can fight or sneak around or something, I'm not really good with any of that…"

"What can you do, then?" Cole asked.

"Master Gogo is an amazing engineer!" Styrm blurted out.

"That so?" Cole asked, scratching his chin. "Well, then. We've had a few sluice gates malfunctioning in the sewers. There's been lots of flooding, and the city kids like to play down there, so it hasn't been safe for them. Someone can take you down there to take a look."

"And myself?" Granny asked.

Mal chuckled, tightening the strip of blue cloth around her forehead. "Don't be silly. We couldn't ask a woman of your beauty and grace to do our dirty work."

Azionne snorted.

Granny smiled. "Lovely answer. I'll stay here and party with these fine people, then. Someone fetch me a drink!"

"All right, let's head out. Aboveground it is, for us," said Cole. He led Edge, Azionne, and Styrm out of the room a different way. Edge looked back at Baithin and Granny, nodding, while Styrm frowned at his grandmother. Baithin returned the nod.

Mal put her hands on her hips after they left, facing Baithin and Ndai. "All right, you two. Ndai heard this already, but the name's Amalia. Our job will be to sneak into one of the Empire's phantom train stations and stop a crystal shipment they have going out. Can you two be light on your feet?"

Ndai put her hands in her belt loops, furrowing her brow. "Of course – I'm Gridania's most famous thief!" Baithin sincerely doubted that. "But this sounds dangerous. Expected of rebel work, I suppose!"

"Of course," said Amalia. "We don't just sit here and party every night, you know."

"Well, yeah… Of course not," said Ndai.

Baithin nodded. "I'm Baithin. I can be sneaky, I suppose." Playing a convincing Riskbreaker would be harder, though he supposed it couldn't be  _too_ different from navigating an ancient temple ridden with traps, like he did with the Gullwings for their excavation work.

"Excellent," Amalia said. "We'll get to the phantom train station from below, so we'll be going through the Undercity." She led them through a door and down a different hallway. This hideout was so unlike the Gullwings' home or even the Riskbreakers' – there were no decorations, no notices on the wall or lists of Garlean movements and supply lines – nothing to indicate that it had been lived in for long.

"Is this really the Resistance's hideout?" Baithin asked as they passed a room. Inside, a woman played with her child.

Amalia's face darkened. "One of them. We've had to move around a lot since the new viceroy came to town. We're about to leave it, though – once we go through this last door, don't mention the Resistance again."

Baithin nodded as she pulled open a pair of double wooden doors. He expected sunlight, but they weren't outdoors at all – the ceiling went up only twenty fulms, but people milled about on straight roads all around them. Baithin wrinkled his nose. With all these people in close quarters, it didn't smell very good.

Ndai apparently came to the same conclusion. "Wow, this reeks."

Amalia ruffled her own hair. "Yeah, but it's home. Welcome to Ala Mhigo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you couldn't tell, the Undercity in Ala Mhigo is modeled after Rabanastre in FFXII, where Vaan and the other kids live.
> 
> I'd love to hear some feedback!


	6. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ndai and Baithin are given their first mission from the Ala Mhigan Resistance: infiltrate a phantom train station in the city and disrupt the supply route to Ilsabard. Ndai flashes back to the last time she committed a similar crime, though with disastrous consequences.

# Hydaelyn's Wing

## Part 1: The Heart of the Empire

### Chapter 5

As different as Ala Mhigo was from Gridania, Ndai found the kids to be all the same: smelly, no-good troublemakers that knew who the outsiders were.

In just their short walk from the Resistance hideout, three separate children tried to pickpocket or swindle her. Ndai caught them every time, but they were so bad that on the third time she started giving them tips for improvement. Amalia appreciated that, it seemed, and told the brats that Ndai and Baithin were with her, and after that the kids backed off and stopped eyeing their gil pouches.

"So you've got some sway here, huh?" Ndai asked the Resistance member. "What cute kids!" She tried smiling at them and hoped it looked convincing.

Amalia smiled. "Sure do. I basically grew up on these streets, after all."

"They're all orphans, aren't they?" Baithin watched the children sitting miserably in one of the Undercity's corners, begging for food from passerby. Others peeked out from behind doors, while adults scurried from place to place, keeping a close eye on their things. Though there were few storefronts, a handful of merchants hawked their wares, their voices echoing in the wide halls. Every few street corners Ndai spotted a Garlean sentry, but most people steered clear of them.

"The Garleans conscripted their parents into their armies," Amalia answered under her breath. "They used to place some of the children into orphanages, but eventually there were too many kids."

That was another thing they had in common with Gridanian children.  _And me, I suppose_ , Ndai thought.

Amalia continued, diverting her eyes towards Baithin. "You would know that, wouldn't you? You've probably fought some of my people, being in the Riskbreakers."

Baithin's shoulders straightened at her gaze. "Uh. Right, yes. Sorry about that."

Ndai tapped her nose at that, thinking. She knew for a fact that Baithin was actually a member of the Gullwings, along with that Gogonegi kid. For the past week or so, she had watched the Gullwings' home in the Lavender Beds, trying to muster up the courage to approach it. She knew she wouldn't be warmly welcomed, considering her attempted theft of an artifact they had discovered, so she decided to make herself at home in their unused airship in the meantime.

Holed up in the  _Fahrenheit_ 's cargo hold for the entirety of the airship ride to the Goblet and then Ala Mhigo, she wasn't able to figure out what their purpose in Ala Mhigo was. She decided to keep her mouth shut about Baithin's true allegiance, though. She didn't particularly care much either way, and thought maybe she could get some favors from them for keeping it to herself.

Amalia unfolded one of her fans with a snap, and began fanning herself, drawing Ndai out of her thoughts.  _Those things are pretty snazzy_ , she thought. "No need to apologize," Amalia said. "You were doing your duty. Though  _I_ would try to find some way to avoid killing my own countrymen, perhaps by absorbing them into the Riskbreakers."

Baithin offered an uncomfortable smile. "I'll be sure to pass that on to our leader."

The ceiling rumbled and shook. Up above, Ndai heard metal screeching against metal, and for one horrifying moment she thought the ceiling would come crashing down. None of the townspeople reacted, and the sound eventually trailed away.

"That was a phantom train, wasn't it?" Baithin asked, looking up. They had come across a large square, the most open space in the Undercity so far. It was still underground, but Garlean Magitek lights illuminated the area.

Ndai composed herself.  _Gods,_ she thought.  _I sure do feel like a Gridanian bumpkin._  Having left the Shroud only once in her life before this, she had never seen a train before.

Amalia nodded. "Yes. We're close now. Our train will be departing shortly." She pointed to the far corner of the square. "Let's go. That stairwell will bring us up."

She led them up the narrow stairwell, which opened up to the city above. Tall buildings surrounded the three of them on all sides, but the train station was a bleak spot of dark Garlean metal marring the warm browns and reds of the rest of Ala Mhigo. Ala Mhigans and Garleans alike – civilians and soldiers – walked the cobbled city streets, paying no mind to the fenced off station.

Ndai breathed in the fresh morning air as she looked around. Barely any passerby had glanced at them as they emerged from the Undercity. She turned to the others, hooking her thumbs into her belt loops. "Okay, now what?"

Amalia unfolded her fans again. "Now we wait." She reached into the bag at her hip and pulled out a small tin cup. After placing it on the ground in front of her, she clapped her hands together and turned to Baithin. "Right, now's your chance to show off your skills with the harp. Get playing."

"What does this have to do with the mission?" Ndai asked. Amalia's outfit, a red frilly top and skirt that bared her midriff, made sense now. Ndai had previously wondered why she didn't dress for a fight.

Baithin shrugged and strummed an upbeat tune as Amalia danced, her bangles jingling together to add to it. Ndai stood a little way away from them watching the gate to the phantom train station, unsure of what else to do, until Amalia grabbed her by the hands and pulled her back over. The taller woman smiled as she led Ndai in dance, so Ndai couldn't help but grin back.

"You're a natural at this," Amalia said, letting Ndai dance on her own to unfold her fans. "And the music's pretty good, too." She spun to Baithin's music, but for some reason, very few Ala Mhigans wandered over to watch. Instead, a small handful of Garleans came, most of them soldiers. Ndai tried not to flinch under their scrutiny – in the past, she tried her best to avoid them at all costs.

Amalia danced right up to some of the soldiers, bringing her face close to theirs and concealing them both from the view of the rest of her audience with her fans. The small crowd cheered every time she did this, and when she snapped them shut, the soldiers' faces were usually flushed with red.

An explosion boomed in the distance, putting a sudden stop to the music. People screamed and fled as the ground shook and Ndai flattened herself against the side of a building. Their small audience dispersed, the soldiers yelling commands into their transmitters.

"That was the Imperial Quarter! Send the cadets and sentries to survey the damage! Platoon five, search for any wounded and round up as much of the Resistance scum that you can! They're behind this!"

"That's our cue," said Amalia, snapping her fans shut. She ushered them into the building nearest the fenced off station as a full platoon of soldiers burst out of the gates. Ndai followed, feeling almost in a daze. She wondered if she was getting in over her head.

"The Imperial Quarter?" Baithin asked. "That's where Edge and the others are!"

Amalia glanced at him. "Edge, you say? Is that one of your companions?"

"Yeah. Are they all right?"

Amalia shook her head as if to cast something off her. "Sorry, yes. They're fine. That blast should be their doing."

The building she rushed them into turned out to be someone's home. A young Ala Mhigan couple greeted them at the door and hurried them to a wooden staircase, going up into another hall. Amalia thanked them, exchanged a few words, and led Ndai and Baithin to a small study upstairs. She opened the window, giving them a full view of the phantom train station down below.

An alarm blared from a sentry tower in the middle of the station. Ndai peeked outside, spotting the soldiers scrambling to finish loading the train with crates from a warehouse while three Magitek reapers and vanguards patrolled the grounds. Once, with the Coeurlclaws, she had an unfortunate run-in with them near Castrum Oriens, which she never wanted to repeat again.

Amalia turned away from the window. "Okay, Ndai, now it's your turn. I want you to climb out and sneak your way into that warehouse. Inside you'll find the phantom train's control system. Find the override and cancel the automated route to Ilsabard."

Baithin scratched his head. "Hold on, Ilsabard? This train isn't delivering supplies to the troops in Eorzea?"

Ndai waved her hands. "Wait, wait, wait. You want me to go down there alone?"

Amalia furrowed her brow. "Of course. Didn't you tell me yourself last night that you were experienced with sneaking into places? Particularly highly guarded mansions?"

Ndai shrugged. "Well, yes, but that was in Gridania! And at night!"

"The high buildings around the station cloak the place in shadow until noon. In fact, it should be easier than at night, since they don't use searchlights in the morning."

"What will you two do, then?" she asked.

"Baithin and I will set explosives on the tracks as a fail-safe in case you're unable to find the override," Amalia answered. "We'll also be doing most of the fighting. I don't know what you're worried about."

Ndai hunched forward. "But I'm no good at fighting if I have to…"

"And I'd like to know why the Garleans want crystals on their lands," said Baithin, staring at the train.

Amalia put her hands on her hips, glaring at Ndai. "Did you want to join the Resistance, or not?"

Ndai looked at her feet. In truth, she wasn't so sure anymore – back at home, she always skirted on the fringes of the Coeurlclaws, never properly joining because the King terrified her. And after  _that_  night at the mansion of House Monfleur, in Gridania, she decided to turn her life around, as she told Baithin and the others even if they didn't believe her. So she watched the Gullwings for a while, and failed at stealing from them even though she used to be so good at it, and thought that they might not be so bad either… But she ruined her chances with them before she even got the chance to try.

She fixed her gaze on Amalia. "I've… done some things I'm not proud of. And maybe the Resistance isn't right for me, but I want somewhere to belong." She took a deep breath. "I'll do this."

Amalia smiled at her approvingly and then turned to Baithin. "And you? You still want to meet the Resistance leaders, right?"

He nodded. "Yes. We need their help." Looking at Ndai, he smiled. "You're not that bad, are you? You could have hurt Nathan, but you didn't. I think you'll be fine."

Ndai looked away, hiding the blush she felt rising in her cheeks. Nathan was the nice Miqo'te who let her into the Gullwings' home when she initially pretended she wanted to join. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Good," said Amalia. "Now that that's settled, get going. There are far less soldiers down there than before. You can do this."

Ndai crouched on the windowsill. "How will you two know I did it?"

Amalia smirked. "Oh, I think we'll be able to figure it out. We'll be down in a few minutes."

Ndai hopped down to the ledge below, hugging the side of the building as she descended into the train station. "That's reassuring," she grumbled to herself. She found no comfort whatsoever in the fact that it didn't matter if she succeeded or not with altering the train route. She thought about just fleeing into the city, leaving behind the Resistance and Baithin's weird group of companions, but she was already in the train station. If she turned back now, she risked being caught.

Unbidden, the memory of the last time she had been caught sneaking around came to her head. She had been climbing ledges just like these to sneak into House Monfleur in Gridania. The Coeurlclaws had charged her with stealing Lady Monfleur's jewels. Cocky and confident, having never been caught before, she let her guard down. She had made too much noise searching through the lady's things and a manservant came to investigate. She remembered her knife sliding between his ribs, the sound of a gasp escaping his lips and his body dropping to the floor. She panicked, left everything behind, and ran. She didn't remember much else from that night, except that she ran until she found herself in the arid heat of a Thanalan morning.

That was when she discovered she couldn't bring herself to steal anything anymore, not even if it was food and she was hungry. Weeks later, when she heard of the priceless artifact the Gullwings had discovered, she had to see if she still had it in her. She had approached their house on a rainy day, knocked right on their front door, and made up a story about wanting to join their company. Nathan had welcomed her in, and as soon as she was left alone she searched. Nathan had discovered her, though, and in a moment of panic she nearly hurt him, too.

She didn't get their artifact. She felt like a cat that had been declawed.

Ndai leapt to the roof of the warehouse and was suddenly overcome with a bout of nausea. Her vision blurred before her legs impacted the metal roof. She staggered her landing, dizzy, and then felt herself falling. Somehow, before she toppled off of the roof, she managed to grab the ledge. Hanging off the side of the building, she took deep breaths to compose herself.

"Focus, Ndai," she whispered.

She let herself drop, kicking off the side of the warehouse halfway down to break her fall with a roll. She scrambled to the side of the building, knowing she wouldn't be heard due to the alarm, and hugged her knees.

Head pounding and hands shaking, she tried to force the image of the manservant and even Nathan out of her mind. "That's all far away, back in Gridania," she said, breathing heavily. The alarm continued. "I'm just gonna do this and leave the city. Find my own way. I don't need the Resistance. Just get out of this alive."

She remembered Baithin's last words to her and took another deep breath, steeling herself.  _I'll be fine_.

Edging along the side of the building, she rounded the corner and watched the door slide open, spotting a trio of soldiers rolling another crate out to the train. Its engine rumbled, but Ndai looked away from it to slip inside the warehouse while none of them noticed. Inside, she crept behind another tower of crates – the warehouse was full of them, so she had no shortage of hiding places.

She spotted the control panel on a round console in the center. A pair of engineers operated it while a few more soldiers wheeled the shipment outside.

"That's the last of it," one of the soldiers said, gesturing to the shipment. "You three load it onto the train." Three soldiers left with the last crate of crystals while three more stood guard.

 _All I need to do is get to that control panel. Can't be too hard to figure it out from there, right_? She hoped that the phantom trains, named as such for their lack of a conductor, were easy to program. But she didn't know anything about how to operate their strange machinery. She barely even knew how to read.

She dug into one of the crates around her and fished out a handful of steel joints. Biting her lip, she threw one as far as she could, eliciting a loud bang when it hit one of the metal crates on the far side of the warehouse.

"What in the seven hells…?" she heard one of the soldiers ask.

"You – find out what made that noise!"

"Ser!"

Ndai slumped forward. She hoped at least two of them would go investigate the source of the noise, but luck was not on her side today. That left at least two soldiers and the engineers for her to deal with.

She peeked her head over the crates. The two soldiers that were left aimed their Magitek hand cannons at the crates, on high guard. Ndai tossed one of the steel joints up, caught it, and hurled it with all her strength at one of their heads.

The impact made his helmet  _clang_ and he fell to the ground, unconscious. The other soldier, alarmed, aimed a few blasts at nothing, causing one of the crates to explode and crystals to scatter everywhere. The engineers fled, screaming.

Ndai winced as she fled to another crate pile, picking up a cord of steel fiber on the way. She did  _not_ want to get hit by one of those. Nevertheless, she climbed onto a higher pile of crates near the last soldier and leapt onto his head from above, squeezing him with her legs while she wrapped the steel fiber around his neck. He yelled and flailed, managing to hold on to consciousness and trying to slam her against one of the crates. She jumped off of his shoulders and drew her knives, unsure if she could bring herself to stab him if she had to.

"I underestimated you!" she said. "You Garleans are more thickheaded than I thought!"

The soldier snarled. "You little…!" He took a moment to reload his hand cannon, but she aimed a cut at one of his hands, making him drop the weapon. When he scrambled for it, she threw her whole body into his chest, launching him backwards into the control panel. His bulk dented the entire console, making it fizzle and die.

"I hope that worked…" Ndai took a moment to admire the multicolored crystals all over the ground. "Who needs an override, anyway?"

"Hey, you!" The other soldier was back, coming at her with his gunhalberd drawn. "Stop right there!"

"You'll never believe this!" she exclaimed. "One of the engineers just went mad and tried to kill us all!" He stared at her. "Okay, that was a dumb excuse, even by my standards. See ya!"

She bolted outside, running towards the train tracks, when she saw another bunch of soldiers heading the same way. Baithin struggled to fend them off with his broadsword, casting a quick Ruin spell whenever he could get some distance. Amalia was next to him with her metal fans drawn, and Ndai blinked in surprise when she realized the woman danced as she fought. She spun around all of her enemies' blows, parried others, and sliced them with the edges of her fans. Occasionally, when Baithin failed to block a blow aimed at him, she would jump back and dance in place, flooding both of them with a soft green light. That was no spell Ndai had ever seen before.

Ndai considered fleeing from the train station and putting it all behind her. It'd be a lot easier than staying here and fighting alongside them. She paused in the middle of the train yard too long, lost in thought, and a soldier spotted her. She drew her knives, ready to defend herself, when a white light slammed into the soldier, catching her unawares.

It seemed that Baithin had spotted Ndai, too. He flashed her a grin as he and Amalia pushed through. "Could use some help over here, Ndai!"

_Maybe I could stick around. For a little while longer, at least._

She aimed a kick at one of the soldiers attacking him. Before she could ask him how their part of the mission went, he rushed by her, grabbing her hand and dragging her along with them.

A column of flame erupted from the tracks as an explosion rocked the station. Ndai kept running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of all my characters so far, Ndai is the one I've done roleplay with least. I learned a lot about her writing this!
> 
> And here you get a first look at one of the new jobs I've created for the purposes of this story - Dancer, which I hope to see in game one day. I've set it up as a melee healer/support class, but I won't get into the technical stuff with any of the new jobs in this fic.
> 
> Please review!


	7. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his mission with the Resistance, Edge reminisces about his former life in Ala Mhigo. The group finally meets the Resistance leaders and learns of a plan to assassinate Legatus Terra.

Edge didn't know how to feel about being back in Ala Mhigo.

Their mission in the Imperial Quarter, which involved breaking into a Garlean officer's personal home and stealing military data, had mostly been a success. They managed to get the data, but a battle had broken out. Thankfully, several Resistance members had appeared to back them up, but not before Azionne cast an explosive fire spell and damaged the officer's home. That had earned her respect points with Cole.

After they made their escape, Cole gave them free rein to explore the city. Azionne went off by herself, but Edge decided to show Styrm around a little bit. As the day went on, though, Edge decided he wanted to be alone as he revisited the places he recognized from his youth.

His old home, in the Undercity, had a new family taking up residence now. His mother would like that. The alley where he and Ashe and all of the other city kids used to play was still filled with children. He wondered if he knew their parents. He tried to find Ashe's house, too, so he could tell her about it when he returned, but he couldn't remember how to get to it. He had been only five years old when Ala Mhigo fell, after all.

Now, he found himself closer to the outskirts of the city, aboveground, in one of the few patches of green that existed after the Garlean occupation. It was Edge's favorite place – a hill with an old cedar tree at its crest, where he and Ashe used to play all the time. When they were young, the two thought they could see all of Ala Mhigo from there. Now, he realized the city was much bigger. As he sat down and leaned against the tree's trunk, looking at the Garlean-built towers and walls and searchlights that clashed so horribly with the rest of the city, it really hit him how much it had all changed. He was glad that this place had stayed the same, at least.

He leaned back and sighed, just absorbing it all, when he heard his linkpearl ringing in his pocket. He jumped up and fished it out, nearly shoving it into his ear. He hadn't even thought to check it before this.

"Hello? Ashe?"

An excited gasp came from the other end, and it exploded into sound.

"Edge!"

"'E's okay!"

"Where are you? Did you make it to Ala Mhigo?"

"How's Granny?"

"And Styrm!"

"Is Azi with you?"

Edge's face lit up as he listened to the jumble of voices, struggling to hold back tears of relief. Finally, Ashe's voice broke through the din. "Everyone! Let him speak!"

"Everyone, I'm… I'm so glad you're all right!" The ache in his chest that he didn't know he felt until now dissipated. His eyes stung. "Where are you? Did you make it out okay?"

Ashe responded first. "Oh, gods, Edge. It's so nice to hear you. We managed to get a temporary hideout, but I don't want to say where it is in case the Garleans intercept this. We have some wounded, but for the most part we made it out of the Goblet just fine."

Edge rubbed his eyes, smiling so widely that his face hurt. "We made it to Ala Mhigo and met the Resistance. Ashe, you'd never believe where I am right now."

She chuckled. "I think I know." He struggled to find words, wishing so much that she was right there with him. "Magic is still uncontrollable here so it took a while to get the linkshell figured out, but we managed. We've been laying low, so I don't know how things are in the cities, but as a whole things seem bad."

"We'll get that artifact back," Edge said, clenching his fist. "We will. And everything will be okay."

"Having trouble hearing you, damned connection," she grumbled. "We'll talk soon. Come home to us safe."

"I will," he said. "I miss all of you."

"We miss you too, Edge!"

"And Granny and Styrm! Even Azionne!"

"Give them our love!"

"Well, maybe not Azi…"

"I'll see you all soon!" Edge called through the din.  He heard a crackling sound. "Shite, connection's gone."

The linkpearl went silent. Edge leaned back against the cedar tree, smiling as he felt the wind on his face and listened to the leaves rustling in the wind. Maybe everything would end up being okay.

"Edge Marbrand. I figured I'd find you here."

He turned to the source of the voice, spotting the dancer from the Resistance walking up the hill towards him. "I don't recall ever introducing myself to you," he said.

She smirked. "You didn't have to. Baithin mentioned your name. After that, I put it together."

He tilted his head. "Do I know you?"

"Aw, you don't remember me? I'm hurt," she said, pouting. "My name's Amalia. We used to play together."

It took a moment, but the memory of a young girl a couple of years older with a wild mane of hair appeared to him. "Oh! I remember now!"

She smiled and sat down next to him. "We called ourselves 'The Undercity Rats,' with all those other kids. Those were the days."

"That's right," he said. "You were an Undercity kid, too." He couldn't recall where any of them lived, or even most of their names. "And you bullied me!"

Amalia laughed. "You made it so easy."

Edge folded his arms.  _Figures. Two of the girls I grew up with went on to become members of anti-Garlean rebellions_. "Just because you were older."

She looked over the city, smiling. "The girl Ashe that was in our group… Is she the same Ashelia that leads the Riskbreakers?"

"She is," Edge replied. "And we're to be married."

"Ha! Look at you two. I could've seen that coming." She brushed her hair behind her shoulders. "I'm glad you both made it out of Ala Mhigo when it fell."

"It took us years to find each other," said Edge, shrugging. "Looking at Ala Mhigo, it doesn't look 'fallen' to me, at least not as much as I expected. There's just Garleans added into it."

She pursed her lips. "Just Garleans, you say?" she said, rocking. "Though I guess you're right. Life went on. But we'll keep fighting."

"Of course," said Edge. "So will the Riskbreakers." They were both silent, calmly resuming their gazes at the city. He didn't know what else to say to someone who he had not seen in twenty years. "So when will we be able to meet your leaders?"

"As soon as we head back," she said. "You all did well today. And since I know you, I put in a good word. The sun's setting, so the curfew aboveground will begin soon."

"Right," said Edge, standing. He offered her a hand and pulled her up with him. "Then let's go, Amalia."

* * *

 

Amalia had led him back to a separate hideout in a different part of the Undercity. As they walked, they reminisced about the way their lives used to be and caught each other up on how they both came to join the Riskbreakers and the Resistance. It wasn't the same as when he reunited with Ashe, but it was nice to see Amalia again nonetheless.

This hideout was larger than the last, built into the expansive waterways that ran beneath the city. The flowing water and complicated gate system helped hide their location while the monsters that roamed the sewers helped deter anyone from trying to find it. It was damp and cold, but the Resistance members made it work for them. Only Azionne surveyed the area around her with disgust, but that was nothing new.

Edge and Baithin slapped their hands together in greeting once Edge arrived. "Is everyone here?" Edge asked.

Baithin nodded. "Yeah. We were just waiting on you." He stood with the stowaway, Ndai, who Edge was surprised to see still with them. The Miqo'te girl avoided his gaze.

Gogonegi stood surrounded by a small crowd of admirers who praised his accomplishments with repairing the sewer's sluice gates. Flustered and blushing, he waved his hands as if trying to ward away their compliments. Further away, Granny Moss seemed like she was getting chummy with a younger group of Resistance members, laughing with them over something while Styrmyrgan worriedly watched over her.

Azionne approached Edge, Baithin, and Ndai. "Well? Are they going to let us meet their leaders or continue to make us wait?"

Amalia put her hands on her hips. "They're coming now."

Sure enough, Cole appeared in the passageway, leading two people who regarded the rest of the Resistance with steely gazes. Both seemed to be about middle-aged and covered in battle scars. The first one was a woman with loose, curly strawberry-blonde hair, tall and elegant with a longsword at her belt and a buckler on her arm. Fully armored and gleaming silver with a blue cape billowing behind her, the Highlander woman cut an impressive figure, but most striking of all was her single green eye. An eye patch covered the other.

The other, another Highlander, was one of the biggest men that Edge had ever seen. With his large nose, close-cropped blond hair, and unexpressive visage, he looked like he was carved from stone. His armor gleamed gold and he also had an impressive knightsword at his belt.

Cole bowed to them all. "Today marks a momentous day for the Resistance. Finally, our sister company, the Riskbreakers, have decided to reach out the hand of friendship to us. Conquerors of Castrum Meridianum, they will prove to be valuable allies in our war against the Garlean Empire."

Edge and Baithin exchanged glances. They did not come here to partner up with the Resistance. He wondered where they got that idea.

"Now may I present to our Riskbreaker friends the three people who keep us going in these trying times," Cole continued. He gestured to the woman with the eye patch.

Before he could introduce her, she stepped forward. "Enough with the theatrics, Cole. My name is General Beatrix, a former soldier in King Theodoric's army and a captain of his Kingsguard. You are welcome among us as friends, Riskbreakers."

The stony-faced man nodded. "And I am General Leo, also a former soldier and Kingsguard captain." His voice was not as gravelly as Edge had been expecting. "And, lastly…"

Amalia joined them at the front of the chamber. "I'm Amalia, though most of your group knows that by now." She winked. "Sorry for being all secretive."

Edge gaped. "Both you  _and_ Ashe? That's it, I'm going to go make my own anti-Garlean movement…"

Ndai clapped her hands together. "Wow, Amalia!"

Azionne waved her hand as if swatting a fly away. "Yes, yes. Now tell us everything you know about the black-robed mages with Terra and Celes." Edge nodded – he was glad she was getting right to business, for once. He composed himself, figuring there was time to talk about it later.

General Leo crossed his arms. "I'm afraid we can't tell you much, except that we know they're not Garlean. They've been with Terra and Celes ever since they came to the city."

Azionne rolled her eyes. "Thank you, we never would have guessed that they weren't Garlean. How many Garlean mages do you know?"

General Beatrix clenched her fist. "Silence. We've done our research on you, Azionne of Ishgard's House Melisandre. You are a heretic to the Holy See, and while I do not care much for Ishgardian politics, you are lucky we've allowed you to roam free among us."

"Is that a threat?" Azionne simmered, but instead of casting a fire spell, like Edge expected, she turned to him and the others.  _Did she learn self-control in her time away_? "Come, let us return home. Those black-robed mages are unlikely to be Ascians at all. This has been an enormous waste of time."

"We don't know that yet," said Baithin.

Granny put her hands on her hips. "We should at least listen to what they have to say before we give up this journey as a lost cause."

Edge looked at Amalia. "We're sorry. Please, continue."

Amalia scrunched her nose at Azionne, but nodded. "Well, first, we wanted to tell you about the current state of affairs in the rest of Eorzea, like you asked the other night."

"Hasn't been pretty, with magic unusable," Cole said.

"Based on our intelligence reports, Limsa Lominsa has been engaged in a naval battle with the Garlean XVth for nigh on two days now. The Maelstrom has decided to make up for their loss of magic by playing to their greatest strength. So far, they are doing well, but we are unsure how long they will last." General Leo spoke loud and smooth, and much more eloquently than Edge expected.

"They have been isolated, though," said Beatrix. "Kan-E-Senna and the Adders have been occupied and unable to help Limsa. Garlean forces directly from Ala Mhigo joined with those at Castrum Oriens to mount an assault on Gridania. Surprisingly, Ishgard has come to their aid. But they have become desperate enough to petition Sharlayan for help. Foolish move, since Sharlayan has little military power to speak of."

Granny clasped her hands together in worry. "Did they evacuate the citizens?"

Cole nodded. "We think Ishgard took 'em in, but they're fighting two wars now. When Gridania falls, Ishgard will be next." Edge frowned, noticing Cole's use of 'when' instead of 'if.'

"And Ul'dah?" Edge asked. His mother lived there.

Amalia looked at him. "Fallen. Flame General Raubahn has vanished without a trace, and the rest of the Flames barely put up a fight."

Beatrix put a hand on the hilt of her sword. "And we have Legatus Terra xia Rozarria to thank for all of this."

Edge stared down at the ground, fists clenched. Everyone else was silent. That Eorzea had fallen so easily, despite its leaders pushing for an unstoppable alliance… He choked back his worry for his friends in the Riskbreakers and his mother in Ul'dah. "What can we do?" he asked, voice low.

"There must be something," said Styrm. "I want to help."

Amalia flicked open one of her fans, smirking. "Three days from now, there's going to be a parade to celebrate the coming of Terra and Celes to Eorzea and the appointment of the new viceroy for Ala Mhigo."

"A parade? Before they've even won?" Baithin asked.

"Perceptive of you. It won't be a victory parade," said Leo, nodding. "A display of strength, more like. Terra's promise to the Garlean Empire."

"She came to Ala Mhigo and went right to work with her invasion," said Amalia, fanning herself. "As much as I hate to admit it, I gotta admire that. All the pomp comes after. She's making a statement."

Gogo gently nudged Edge in the leg and stepped around him. "Three days… What's going to happen?"

Beatrix fixed him with a stare and Gogo quailed in response. "An assassination. With Terra out of the picture, Celes may return home. While the two share an equal rank, Terra is the mastermind behind them. The invasion will fall apart. Of course, if the opportunity arises, we will take out Celes as well, but Terra is the priority."

Ndai smirked. "I love parades!"

Leo crossed his arms. "And then, with all of the soldiers who once occupied our city marching to the west against the rest of Eorzea, we will take back Ala Mhigo!"

The Resistance erupted into cheers. Gogo clutched Edge's leg, but Edge felt hope rising in his chest. "And after that?" he asked.

Amalia smiled. "We will join the Eorzean Alliance and drive the Garleans from our lands once and for all!"

More cheers erupted and even Edge felt compelled to join in. He lifted Gogonegi up onto his shoulders, beaming, as the Lalafell clutched his head in fear. "For Eorzea!" he said, joining the chorus of shouts.

Azionne, not partaking in the revelry, crossed her arms. "Let me guess. You need  _our_ help for this."

Cole leaned on one leg, offering a lazy smile. "Well, the Resistance working together with the Riskbreakers would be a good first step to a truly united Eorzea, don't you think?"

"We would very much like your help," said Amalia. "All seven of you."

Ndai looked around. "Wait, even me? But I'm not a Riskbreaker!"

Granny put a hand on her hip. "What will you do once you've taken back Ala Mhigo? What of the Garlean citizens who have come to live here these past twenty years? Who will become its leader?"

"The Garlean citizens will be given the opportunity to submit to our rule or we will force them to leave," said Leo. "Easy."

"As for the leader?" Amalia snapped her fans shut. "It'll be me. I'm going to assume the throne and bring back our country's monarchy."

"You?" said Azionne, incredulous. "Leading a rabble of resistance fighters is nothing like leading a country."

Beatrix turned to Amalia. "Now is as good a time as any," she said. She regarded the whole crowd of them with her single eye. "Everyone. Amalia, like her father and brothers before her, is not who she has always said she is." She knelt.

Leo followed, dropping to one knee. "May we present to you the youngest daughter of Prince Wilhelm and only living heir to the throne of Ala Mhigo, the lost Princess Sara."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. You may have noticed that I'm referencing quite a lot of past FF characters - Terra, Celes, Amalia/Sara, Beatrix, Leo... And there will be more to come throughout this entire fic. That's intentional not only as a shoutout, but to help all of you keep everyone straight. I figured it'd be easier to make associations with existing FF franchise characters to better keep track of everyone in this story. Their characters won't be exactly the same, but they have enough similarities that I hope it'll be easy to remember who's who.
> 
> Please leave comments!


	8. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The parade announcing the arrival of Legati Terra xia Rozarria and Celes xia Lux has begun, and the Resistance enacts its plan to assassinate Terra.

Azionne felt restless.

Due to her destructive use of magic on her mission at the Imperial Quarter, her face had been plastered onto wanted posters throughout Ala Mhigo. As such, the Resistance had forced her to stay in their hideouts while they waited for the day of the parade. Only a few months ago, she would have been proud that she was feared across a whole city. In Ishgard, parents told children to behave or "the hellfire heretic" would come and get them. Now, she couldn't bring herself to care.

She thought her time with the Riskbreakers had quelled the fire in her heart, so she left them for almost two moons to reignite her flames. Azionne spent that time in the blackest parts of the Black Shroud, honing her connection to Voidsent magicks in ways she never had before. It had taken her a long time to discover, but she eventually realized her inner fire had not quelled – instead, it burned with a different fuel. Where once she was driven by vengeance, the desire to protect the Riskbreakers had settled in her heart. In a life of isolation and burning for her parents' revenge, she had never felt accepted like she did with the Riskbreakers. Azionne vowed on the Void that she would never lose them.

Of course, she could never let them know that. She had a reputation to uphold, and they were fond of hugging, which she wanted no part in. Though she did wish she could at least be stuck with someone whose company she enjoyed. Edge was a useless oaf as far as she was concerned, and she had only met Styrmyrgan the day they left for Ala Mhigo. He was an even bigger oaf than Edge. Edge was at least useful as hired muscle, which she had need of once. It had been how the five of them – Azionne, Edge, Baithin, Granny, and Gogonegi – had originally come to know each other.

Baithin was an old acquaintance of hers from before her time with the Riskbreakers. Moons ago, when Azionne needed three different types of mages to close the Voidgates around Eorzea, she had selected him as the arcanist of their party. Talented and intelligent, he was not unbearable, and suited her needs. She did not want to endanger Blaetlona, also a practitioner of arcanima, and did not know the Riskbreakers' other arcanists well enough at the time, so she had been forced to look outside their company. Little did she know that her act had resulted in an alliance of sorts between the Riskbreakers and the Gullwings.

To fill the position of conjurer for their journey, she selected Whispering Moss. Old, wise, and sensible, Azionne expected the Roegadyn to suit her needs, which she did almost perfectly. The only part that made her hesitate was that the crone might randomly drop dead due to exertion or something. Over their time together, Moss had become worthy of her respect – or at the very least, Azionne could tolerate her over the others.

Gogonegi was a coward, but his knowledge of technology proved to be useful in their journey. To locate the Voidgates, Azionne needed a voidal resonator, which none of the others knew how to operate. Baithin had recommended the boy and brought him along.

With a thaumaturge, an arcanist, and a conjurer, Azionne was able to dispel the wild magic surrounding the Voidgates and close them for good, saving the Riskbreakers from Voidsent attacks and night terrors. Edge's only purpose was to keep the Voidsent at bay while they closed the gate.

As fate would have it, the five of them had been brought together again. This time, they had a sixth. Styrmyrgan spoke as little as Gogonegi, but he was as big a fool as Edge, with obtuse reasons for joining them.

Now, she found herself participating in an assassination mission that she did not particularly care for, but as long as the Resistance did not expect her to do anything she was willing to watch what would happen. Edge and the others were not opposed, which surprised her, which meant she was stuck in Ala Mhigo until they decided to leave anyway. At least an assassination could be entertaining.

Three more days. Normally, she would ignore the Resistance's orders and go wherever she wished, but even Azionne knew that she'd be a bigger fool than both Styrm and Edge combined if she was discovered. It would put the assassination mission at risk. For now, she wanted that as much as the Resistance did, so she resigned herself to staying in the musty, malodorous sewers.

_At least the Riskbreakers have a proper home_ , she thought.

_Oh, no, their place burned, remember? Just like you wanted._

_Don't be daft_ , Azionne responded.  _I never wanted such a thing_.

_Didn't you, though? Remember, remember, you at least wanted to dismember. Hee hee._

_Begone, I am in no mood to speak with you now._

The voice that plagued her mind faded. She supposed it surfaced because she had been thinking of the Voidgates.

Three days.

She noticed Baithin had been spending time with the Gullwings' stowaway, whose name Azionne could not bring herself to remember. She had been watching them trading blows in one of the more open parts of the waterways, Baithin's broadsword against the smaller woman's knives. Azionne was surprised that Edge was nowhere near the location of a fight.

"You're quick!" Baithin said, swinging the blunt side of his sword and striking only air.

"You too," the girl responded, sliding within his reach and elbowing him in the gut. He doubled over, groaning. "But with a smaller sword, you could be quicker."

Baithin pouted. "But I like this sword!"

"You should leave the swordsmanship to that guy Styrm," she said, grinning. "Even he's better than you." Azionne almost snorted. Styrm couldn't even hold his sword the right way. "You'd be better off sticking to your bow and magic."

"What about you?" Baithin asked, standing up straight. "I saw you eyeing Amalia's fans."

"Well, they're pretty and all, but…"

"But what, Ndai?" Amalia strode into the room, flicking her fans open. "The Dancers of Ala Mhigo stood on the frontlines of battle all throughout our history. It's an art to be proud of."

Baithin scratched his head. "Like the Monks?"

"We supported the Monks," said Amalia. She pulled out a pair of folded fans and tossed them to Ndai. "I think you'd have a knack for it, you know."

"Me?" Ndai asked. "I like dancing, I suppose, but I don't know any magic."

Amalia shook her head. "It isn't magic. Like the Monks, we practice the skill of manipulating our own chakras. We dance to make them flow more easily through our bodies to everyone around us. It's a very precise healing art."

"Sounds complicated," said Ndai, slumping forward.

"I'll teach you," Amalia said, smiling. "As for you, Baithin, you should speak to Beatrix and Leo."

Baithin attached his sword to his belt. "Me? Why?"

"I saw you at the phantom train station. You wield weapons and magic together seamlessly. I think you'd be suited to the path of the Red Mage."

Azionne scoffed. "I've never heard of such a thing. There is only black and white magic, and both are forbidden and nearly lost." Azionne herself never shied away from learning black magic, poring through endless tomes for even a hint of the forbidden practice. She sought out teachers both within their world and among the Voidsent and succeeded.

"I'd rather you did not dismiss my art, Azionne Melisandre." Azionne rolled her eyes as Beatrix came into the room and saluted Amalia. "We Red Mages were once to the royalty of Ala Mhigo that the Paladins are to the sultana in Ul'dah."

Baithin grinned sheepishly. "Well, er, I don't really plan on dropping everything and moving to Ala Mhigo to stand guard over Amalia as she rules one day. No offense."

Amalia chuckled. "None taken."

"That would not be necessary," said Beatrix, flipping her hair. "As we have no longer been able to carry out our duties for the past twenty years, fewer people have taken up our spellblades than ever before. General Leo and I are willing to teach whoever may be interested."

Azionne, sitting further away from them, narrowed her eyes. This was little more than a ploy by Amalia and Beatrix to further illustrate their ideals of "working together for a united Eorzea" that they had spoken of earlier. She could see right through them, but they hadn't even realized yet that Baithin and Gogonegi weren't even Riskbreakers. The Resistance had been giving too much, so Azionne wondered how long it would take them to reveal how much they wanted in return.

Baithin clenched his fist, grinning. "Sounds fun, I'll give it a try! I bet none of my brothers and sisters know anything about red magic!"

Azionne rubbed her temples. Three days.

* * *

 

_Round and round and round and round it goes… Off into oblivion! Hee hee! Let the Void consume it all!_

* * *

 

Eventually, Azionne's boredom and irritation got the better of her and she was allowed to leave the hideout, provided she wore a cloak and did not make a scene. After that, three days had passed without incident.

Before she left for the parade and the beginning of their operation, Azionne approached Gogonegi tinkering with one of the sewer's sluice gates he had fixed days before. He didn't notice her coming.

"What are you doing?" she asked. She forced herself not to smile in satisfaction as he leapt almost twice his height in surprise.

He turned to her and adjusted his goggles, the wrench in his tiny hands rattling as he struggled to compose himself. "U-um! Azionne! I'm, um, just fixing, uh… This gate. Well, it's already fixed, but it's only barely functioning, so I'm improving the design…"

She put a hand on her hip and observed the rusted over gate with distaste. The water running in the canal behind it made enough noise so that they wouldn't be heard. "Did they tell you to do this?"

Gogonegi waved his arms. "Oh, not at all! I just wanted to help."

"I have a task for you, Gogonegi. You are staying behind while the rest of us go to the parade, correct?"

He tapped his lips, a reflex she had noticed that he did while he thought. "Um, I am. I figured I'd just get in the way if fighting breaks out."

"Good," she said. "While we are gone, I want you to secure a route back to the Tomb of the Forgotten Queen and our airship, in case we need to escape. This includes mapping out the labyrinth of waterways beneath the city. Do you understand?"

Gogo adjusted his goggles. "Well, um, I already know that!"

Azionne raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

"Yes," he said, nodding. "They gave me a floor plan of the waterways in order to understand how the sluice gates worked. The actual tunnels outside of the city are even simpler, despite what they told us on the way here. I could get us back to the tomb."

Azionne smirked. She had to give this kid credit. "Excellent," she said. "At the first sign of the situation above going wrong, go to the airship and prepare it for departure. We will try to come to you if we can, but if we take too long I want you to fly right to the city to get us. Do not let the Resistance or the Garleans claim our airship at any costs."

She swore she could see his eyes spinning. "Um, yes, A-Azionne! But what about monsters in the tunnels?"

"You're small," she said. "Sneak past them."

With that, she left him to go see the parade.

* * *

 

In the city above, trumpets blared and drums beat as parade floats of dancers and musicians made their way through the streets. Hawkers sold their wares in the crowds of people while others walked through selling traditional Ala Mhigan meaty foods. Children, Garlean and Mhigan alike, played and danced and sang while others took the opportunity to pick pockets. Azionne kept up the hood of her crimson cloak, standing in an alley a little further away from the action.

They had learned that Terra, Celes, and the viceroy would all be in the parade, so they chose the city's main plaza as the location of the assassination. It was an open area with a fountain in the center, which the floats circled once before going to other parts of the city. A statue of the recently deceased Emperor Solus zos Galvus stood in the water. Azionne presumed that an Ala Mhigan king once stood in his place.

The plan entailed numerous Resistance members putting a stop to the parade by inciting a riot, halting the floats so the assassin could snipe Terra from above. The actual job of killing her fell to Cole, who was skilled with a crossbow. He waited in the clock tower above the plaza with Granny, whose task it was to protect him with her magic.

If Cole failed, it fell to Generals Beatrix and Leo to engage Terra and Celes in battle while Edge, Baithin, Amalia, and a score of other Resistance members distracted the rest of the troops patrolling the parade area. Azionne volunteered herself to use her destructive magic to clear any barricades the Garleans put up in an effort to cage the Resistance in the plaza.

Azionne kept her war axe hidden behind a bunch of wooden crates in the alley, waiting to use it, while she ran her hand down the black metal rod she pilfered from the Gullwings' cargo hold. The parade itself was exceedingly dull. Garlean military demonstrations were interspersed with floats of dance troupes reenacting the fall of Ala Mhigo complete with an exaggeratedly insane king. They also depicted, strangely enough, the folly of Nael van Darnus, inflating a balloon shaped like his head. The balloon hovered above the float and popped, releasing streamers and sparks in what Azionne assumed was a mockery of the Calamity and the destruction of Dalamud.

_That_  caught Azionne's attention. What kind of woman was Terra to make light of an event such as the one that decimated entire legions of her own troops?

_Someone you'd like, maybe. Heehee._

_The crowd loves it, at any rate_ , Azionne thought.  _I do not think they realized what they saw._

The linkpearl in her ear rang. "Amalia, what's that ball game those kids are playing? It looks fun."

"Some Garlean sport," she responded curtly. "Keep the linkshell clear."

The musicians began to play a different tune – slower and more powerful, announcing the arrival of the viceroy's float into the plaza. Drawn by a pair of Magitek reapers, the float carried only three people, all of which stood at attention. A man, whom Azionne assumed was the viceroy, stood at the front with his hands clasped behind his back, wearing a ceremonial military uniform of white and gold rather than standard Garlean red and black. His golden hair flowed down to his wide shoulders, and even from her distance Azionne could see his regal expression and smug satisfaction.

The two women who stood behind him could only be Terra and Celes, but Azionne did not know which was which. Both had hair that was so light it was almost white, flowing down to their backs. The taller one had her hair loose and free and stood with her hand on her gunblade in a way that reminded Azionne of Beatrix. Her plate armor was ice blue, with a white cape streaming behind her. The other woman had her hair pinned back, but aside from her shoulder pads she wore no armor – only a white camise and slacks, with boots that came up to her mid-thighs and a pink cape. She waved to the crowd, smiling. Azionne supposed she'd find out which one was which when the crossbow bolt fired.

The float brought them to the Solus statue, where the riot would begin and stop the parade. Amalia had wanted Terra to be assassinated right in front of it, possibly to make a statement that Azionne didn't care about at all. Right when she saw Resistance members moving into place, the parade stopped on its own.

Azionne raised an eyebrow. The Resistance members stayed in the crowd.

"Hold," Amalia whispered into the linkpearl. "She wasn't supposed to stop. They might know."

Azionne smirked. A little bit of uncertainty would make this fun.

All three Garleans knelt to the statue of the previous Emperor Solus. The woman in the pink cape was the first to stand and speak, turning to the assembled crowd. A hush fell over the music and the people. "Greetings, people of Ala Mhigo," she said. Her voice was higher than Azionne expected, but stronger as well. "I am Legatus Terra xia Rozarria, born into one of the noblest houses of Garlemald. First, let me introduce you to the new leader of your proud city, Viceroy Caius qui Dreylor."

The man bowed deeply. "I am here to serve," he said, voice low and booming. Azionne almost laughed at that – hadn't he torched several Undercity neighborhoods already? "Ala Mhigo has a rich culture and traditions. I am here to ensure the safety of all citizens, Ala Mhigan and Garlean alike, so that we may preserve our home together."

"Riot group, stand down," said Amalia into the linkpearl. "Cole, wait for my signal."  _Now what could she be thinking_? Azionne thought.

"And here is my close friend and longest companion, Celes xia Lux," said Terra, gesturing to the woman in the white cape. "Similarly from one of the oldest and greatest noble houses of Garlemald."

Celes nodded, giving a thin smile. "It is my pleasure. I look forward to your peaceful cooperation."

"Chocobo shite!" someone yelled out from the crowd. "Peaceful, you say? Tell that to the rest of Eorzea!"

"Get out of here!"

Terra frowned. "Why do you speak to us in this manner? Truly, all we want is for Aldenard and Ilsabard to be united. The war in Eorzea will be finished soon."

"What, after you go in and kill 'em all? Mebbe bring another Calamity?" someone else yelled out. Azionne could not see the source of the voices.

Terra shook her head. "You are wrong. My plan is not to go west with the rest of my legion. They will occupy Eorzea, yes, but I will personally be heading back to Ilsabard."

The crowd stirred. Even Azionne found herself perplexed by that.  _So she grinds Eorzea under her boot, makes us squirm, and then decides to just leave? Does she think she has already won?_

"What're you waiting for, Mal?" Cole asked.

Amalia sounded like she was completely taken by surprise. "What on Hydaelyn does she mean?"

Terra continued. "I am not like my predecessor, Gaius van Baelsar. I do not view you or the Beast Tribes as savages. And I am not like  _his_ predecessor, Nael van Darnus, whose goal was to wipe out all of Eorzea with the Meteor Project. Instead, I wish to understand you and your people. We Garleans have always been unable to use magic, but through the power of Magitek and my own genius, that is no longer. It is my dream to spread the resources of magic and Eorzea's aether-rich lands all over the world. I even want to understand the eikons, with their near limitless source of power."

"The Primals?" Beatrix wondered. "Is she mad?"

"Ilsabard, Othard, and Meracydia have always had magic and Beast Tribes of their own, even if Emperor Solus – may he rest in peace – wiped out our native Orcs from Ilsabard decades ago. But eikons have never existed outside of Eorzea. Like the magi of yore, I wish to harness their great power and use it to unite the world under Emperor Varis." Terra paused, letting her words sink in. "It is a grand dream, to be sure, but it begins here. To accomplish it, I need your help. Together, we will succeed where the Allagans failed."

"Lofty words," said General Leo. "I don't believe a single word of it."

Terra folded her hands behind her back. "You may be wondering how I will spread the gift of magic to the rest of the world. It will be easy – we will replicate the same process that brought magic to Eorzea in the first place." She gestured to the empty space next to her, where a dark portal bloomed and two figures with pitch black hooded robes appeared. The crowd gasped.

Azionne nearly dropped her staff, recognizing the Elezen of the pair.  _It is her._

_She's here._

_After nearly ten years._

_Vengeance._

_Darkness. Pain._

_The Ascian –_

_Emmerololth._

She couldn't move. Her breaths came heavy.

"Azionne, is that them?" Granny asked, her voice a hoarse whisper. "The Ascians?"

"Whoa," said Ndai. "That was a neat trick."

The other Ascian, possessing a Lalafell, presented a long, ornate box as black as his robes and twice as tall as he was, floating above his head. Terra ran her hand along it. "This is an ancient artifact from the First Astral Era called the Lunatic Pandora. My shadowy friends here found it beneath Silvertear Lake. It is said that your gods opened this eons ago, giving birth to magic. It has been more plentiful in Eorzea than anywhere else since."

Emmerololth spoke, her voice resonating in the common tongue rather than the Ascians' unintelligible black speech. "It was opened in the Age of the Gods. This is all known as fact."

"Who are those people?" Amalia asked. "Riskbreakers, what do you know?"

"Is that Lunatic Pandora the reason she came to Aldenard in the first place?" Beatrix wondered. "And now that she has it she's going back home?"

"We were right," said Edge, the relief evident in his voice. "It  _is_ here. We can use that to save everybody."

Amalia's voice broke through. "Edge, what do you mean?"

Azionne couldn't hear any of them. Her pulse pounded in her ears, her gaze fixing on the Ascians and no one else.

"Azionne, answer us," Granny urged.

"Azionne, are you all right?" Baithin.

"Lady Azionne?"

She clenched her staff so hard that her knuckles turned white. She pointed it at the parade float, focusing her aether. With a primal roar, she launched a conflagration at Emmerololth, but the two Ascians calmly turned to it and held up their hands. An invisible force diverted her flames around the float, where they harmlessly dissipated into the air.

"Damn it, Azionne, what are you doing?" Amalia nearly shouted. "Cole, fire!"

The crossbow bolt streaked through the air, but it shattered against another invisible shield before it could reach Terra. "Really," said the legatus, completely unfazed. "Two assassination attempts at once?"

Emmerololth turned to face Azionne. Her eyes were hidden behind a mask, but her lips curled into a thin smirk. "My, my," she said. A red glyph flashed before her mask. "Could it be? One of my old playthings has returned to me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up! I've introduced the second of the new jobs I planned for this fic, this one being the Red Mage. 
> 
> Also, recently, I used fantasia to change Baithin's in-game race from Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te to Midlander Hyur. Everything else about him, from his backstory to his personality, has remained the same. I'm wondering if I should go back through previous chapters and change any references to his race to Hyur or just keep him a Miqo'te in the fic-verse.
> 
> Anyway, feedback would be appreciated!


	9. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Styrmyrgan and the others, along with the Resistance, clash with Garlean forces in the streets of Ala Mhigo during the parade. Legatus Terra uses the opportunity to display some of the newest feats of Garlean Magiteknology - which has the potential to affect the outcome of the entire war. Ala Mhigan Generals Beatrix and Leo wield the powers of red magic against Terra and Celes.

The assembled crowd panic and dispersed, some people trampling over each other while the Garlean soldiers attempted to maintain order. Through all the screaming, it took Styrmyrgan longer than it should have to realize that the Resistance members fought against the Garlean soldiers all around the plaza.

"Continue with the plan!" Amalia shouted into the linkpearl. Styrm could see her near the fountain of Emperor Solus helping the Ala Mhigan citizens escape safely. "Beatrix and Leo have engaged Terra and Celes!"

Baithin and Edge, a little further away, started fighting off soldiers together. He had no idea where Ndai had gone – she was part of the Resistance group Styrm had been assigned to – and Azionne had vanished after hurling her fireball at the viceroy's float. The only people who stood still in the chaos were Beatrix, Leo, Celes, Viceroy Caius, and Terra, who all faced each other – and Styrm himself, who was frozen.

The Garleans began shooting into the crowd, aiming for Resistance members but panicking the people further. Ndai appeared then, standing back to back him with her knives drawn.

"Get a move on, big guy!" she urged him. "We have to get out of here or we're dead!"

"But the Resistance is fighting!" he protested, drawing his sword uncertainly. The plaza had turned into a miniature warzone.

"Yeah, and what're we gonna do about it? You're the only one big enough to keep me from getting trampled!"

He fastened his tower shield to his left arm. "We cannot forsake them!" Gripping his sword as tightly as he could, he ducked behind his shield and charged at the line of soldiers shooting their lance-rifles. He wanted to shout something impressive as he bowled them over with his shield, but all that came out was, "Graaaahhhh!"

Ndai groaned as she ran to catch up to him. "I'm dead, I'm so dead, I'm totally dead…"

Styrm stood up straight and looked at the citizens trapped in the plaza. A few among them were Resistance members, and several carried wounds. "Is everyone all right?"

"They fired into a crowd of civilians…" one of the Resistance people said. Styrm spotted a child crying among them. "Those monsters."

"Who ever is still able to fight, help me clear a path to the south exit of the plaza to get the people to safety," said Styrm, taking a deep breath. "Ndai, can you do anything about the wounded?"

She sheathed her knives and flicked open her fans. "Gee, I see that everyone else gets a 'Ser Baithin' this, or 'Lady Azionne' that, but I'm just Ndai?" He stared at her until she quailed. "Yes. Right. Amalia taught me a healing waltz, so I'll give it a try."

While she danced, Styrm turned, hearing the shouts of more soldiers as they came towards him. Styrm positioned himself in front of Ndai and the others, but the Garlean soldiers far outnumbered him. Before they reached him, crossbow bolts rained from the sky and took them down one after another. Styrm looked up, spotting Cole giving a friendly wave from the clock tower. He sighed in relief – at least his grandmother was up there, safe from the battlefield below.

Black energy swirled in front of Styrm, revealing the Lalafellin hooded mage who floated several fulms off the ground. "Oh, no, we cannot have that, can we?" he asked. "We should all have an even playing field." He waved his arm and more black energy enveloped the top of the clock tower.

"No! Gran!" Styrm shouted.

"Worry not," said the Ascian. "All I have done is brought all players together." A third portal swelled in the middle of the plaza, spitting out Cole and Styrm's grandmother. But that had brought her near the two generals and legati. General Beatrix clashed her sword against Celes' gunblade while General Leo used his red magic to hold Terra at bay.

Beatrix's sword ignited in fire. "Flametongue!" she shouted, swinging the weapon. Celes brought her gunblade up to parry the blow, which glowed and absorbed the fire from Beatrix's sword. "What? My magic!"

"My Magitek blade absorbs all spells cast at it," said Celes, flipping backwards. Her blade retracted, folding into a compact gun. "You have chosen the wrong opponent." She fired bullets at Beatrix, who cast forward a shimmering shield to deflect them.

Leo appeared behind Celes faster than Styrm could see. "Shock!" His blade crackled with lightning as he stabbed toward Celes' exposed back, but the Lalafell Ascian gestured forward and his sword bounced harmlessly off of her.

"Valiant effort getting past me," said Terra, as Celes nodded to her and mounted the Magitek armor that had been pulling their parade float. Terra began to approach Cole and Granny, leaving Beatrix and Leo to Celes in her reaper. "Now to remove this nuisance who tried to kill me."

"No!" Styrm shouted before he could help himself. "Stay away from them!" He rushed toward Terra while her back was turned, knowing it was dishonorable, but she effortlessly parried his blow regardless. With a quick flick of her wrist, she disarmed him, sending his sword skittering away. She sighed at him and pulled back for a lunge.

"Stone!" Granny shouted, pushing forward with her staff. Rock spikes jutted from the ground, nearly impaling Terra and forcing her to leap out of the way. "You stay away from my grandson." Styrm had never seen her gaze so fierce.

Terra tucked her hair behind her ear. "How lovely. The grandmother is protecting her baby."

"Everyone, stop!" Styrm whirled to the source of the voice, spotting Edge restraining the viceroy while Baithin had an arrow trained on his chest and Amalia held her bladed fans at his throat. For his part, the viceroy did not seem alarmed. Edge spoke. "Terra, Celes, let us all go peacefully or we'll kill him."

"Did no one think to consult me with what to do?" Viceroy Caius said. "Just because I am unarmed, you thought I was harmless? Quite a foolish assumption for members of the Ala Mhigan Resistance." In one smooth motion, he ducked below the fans and Baithin's arrow, kicked out at Amalia, and slammed Baithin into Edge.

Edge recovered quickly, aiming a series of punches at Caius, but the viceroy blocked them all and grabbed Edge's arm, throwing him to the ground. Edge spun his legs in a windmill kick and leapt back to his feet, panting. "Wait, you know the fighting style of the Fists of Rhalgr?"

"Of course," said Caius, folding his hands behind him. "As I said, I want to learn everything about Ala Mhigo's rich culture." He gestured to Edge and settled into a stance. "Come, Monk of Ala Mhigo. Let me see how far my training has brought me."

Azionne rushed back into the plaza, the expression on her face nearly feral. "What are you all doing messing about? The Ascians are the true threats!"

The Lalafell Ascian folded his arms and continued to float in place. "Emmerololth, this woman seems to know who we are."

The Elezen materialized next to him. "Worry not, Deudalaphon. She is simply an old host of mine that I discarded years ago. She is but an empty husk." Then they exchanged words together in a language Styrm didn't recognize.

Baithin aimed a spell at Terra while she was distracted. "Ruin!"

"Aero!" Granny fired her spell at the same time, causing Terra to leap backwards again, scowling. "She does not seem to have the same magic-canceling blade Celes does," she said.

General Beatrix appeared behind Terra the moment she landed. "Excalibur." Her sword pulsed with white light, sending Terra careening. A glowing white orb exploded outward, causing Terra to break her composure for the first time in the battle.

She stood back, panting. By this point, all of the other fighting around them stopped, and the Garlean soldiers blocked them in the plaza. "I know who you are now," Terra said. "You can only be a former member of Ala Mhigo's standing military. That sword you wield is an ancient blade called Save the Queen, am I right? Then you must be the famed General Beatrix." She glanced over to Leo, who stood protectively in front of Amalia. "And there is its twin, Save the King. General Leo was its last wielder, so I assume you are that man." Terra straightened. "Then it must be time for me to get serious. Prepare to witness the latest feat of Garlean Magiteknology."

Beatrix held her stance. "Show me."

Celes, atop her Magitek armor, gripped the controls tightly and shot forward. "Terra, no! The tests are not complete!"

Terra held her blade horizontally in front of her, ignoring the other woman. "Magitek infusion circuits: activate junction." Her whole body glowed, but the vibrant green of her eyes was the most striking of all. "Para-Magic parameters normal."

Even Styrm scrambled for his sword and held it up, standing ready with Ndai, who he was surprised to see still with them. Her eyes were wide with fear. "What's she doing?" she asked.

Terra pointed her sword at Beatrix. "Para-Thundara." Instead of firing from her weapon, like normal thaumaturgy, the spell came down from the clear sky, striking Beatrix before she could cast a spell to stop it. The former general screamed and fell to her knees. Terra leapt toward her as she fell, her sword pulled back.

Styrm's feet moved on their own accord, and he found himself in her path with his shield raised. Her sword clashed into his shield with enough force to make his arms quake, but he held. "This strength!"

Terra scowled. "You, again?" She pushed her palm out forward, preparing another spell, but Baithin flashed next to her with the rapier gifted to him from Beatrix.

"Shadowstitch!" he said, jabbing forward. Tendrils of shadow whirled from his weapon, binding her feet together. "Granny, now!"

Granny chanted a spell. "Stone!" Three small stones launched up from the ground in front of her, all of which converged on Terra, who was unable to move. Anyone else would have suffered broken bones from the spell, but the legatus seemed mostly unharmed. Before Terra could strike back, Granny rushed forward and covered them all with a protection spell just in time to defend them from a spray of bullets from Celes' reaper.

"Terra, let us end this now," said Celes. "The Ascians will finish them."

"I am not so sure of that," said Terra, casting her glance to the Ascians. Both fought Azionne together, barraging her with shadow magic, but not even bothering to move when she retaliated with a heavy cleave of her axe. Every time she tried, an invisible barrier blasted her back, knocking her to the ground with grunts of pain. Amalia danced around their spells, but she could not land an attack, either. "They are not taking this seriously." Styrm looked at the Ascians closely, but he could not see the Lunatic Pandora. Did they use one of their portals to hide it somewhere? If that was the case, they had no way retrieving it unless they defeated the Ascians themselves.

Even Edge was still locked in combat with Caius while the Garlean soldiers cheered their viceroy on.

Leo used the momentary lull to cast another spell. "Chainspell, Shock!" He swung his sword multiple times, and with each strike, lightning lashed out at Celes in her Magitek armor, but she simply held up her blade as they came at her and absorbed them all.

"The speed of your spells will not make a difference," said Celes. "My runic blade absorbs all." She pressed a button and the reaper's main cannon began charging.

At the same time, Terra pointed her sword skyward and cast another spell. "Para-Aerora." The wind picked up around her, swirling with enough force to knock back Styrm, Granny, and Baithin all together. "I commend your efforts, Eorzeans. But it ends here."

"I am not so sure of that," said Beatrix, echoing Terra's earlier words. She pushed herself to her feet, and Styrm noticed Ndai dancing behind her. "Watch closely, Baithin. A Red Mage's greatest asset is our Dualcast ability, which no Garlean Magitek could replicate." She ran toward Terra, the aether focusing at the tip of her blade. "Flametongue!" she cried. "Excalibur!"

Terra broke Baithin's magical bindings just as the fire and light energy converged on her. "Celes!" she called. "Fire the main cannon!"

Beatrix sliced with Save the Queen. "Magic burst – Phoenix Flame." Pure white flames exploded around Terra, and to Styrm, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. With Beatrix and Leo's power, they could win this. He thought they might even have a chance against the Ascians.

Terra hurriedly cast another spell, appearing anxious for the first time. "Para-Reflect!" The holy flames licked at her, but many more rocketed in every direction around them. Though Styrm and the others were a bit further away, he threw himself in front of his grandmother with his shield raised. Nonetheless, he felt the heat from the blast searing his face.

"What fearsome magic," said Granny, eyes wide. "None of us are even close to their level."

When he lowered his shield, he saw that both Terra and Beatrix were still standing, but both looked weak. Terra's spell did not manage to block the entirety of Beatrix's Dualcast, as her cape had burned away and her clothes were singed. Beatrix did not notice Celes aiming her Magitek cannon at her just as it was ready to fire.

"Look out!" Baithin shouted.

Leo leapt to Beatrix's side as the cannon fired, sword raised with a spell on his lips. "Phalanx!" The mighty blast burst out from the cannon, destroying part of the ground as it reached them. Both were launched back, but Leo's spell held. Regardless, they struggled to stand. Styrm's ears rang and he felt dizzy.

Granny raised her staff. "We must help them! Styr, watch over us as Baithin and I use our healing magic!"

"No," said Terra, panting heavily. She unveiled a thin, metal circlet from the folds of her clothing. "I have had quite enough. I believe it is time to test another of my inventions. Celes, you have one as well, do you not?"

The other legatus jumped down from her Magitek armor, holding a similar circlet. "I do." Both Garleans approached the two former generals, who lifted their swords in a halfhearted attempt to stop them. Terra and Celes slapped their swords away. "Save the Queen and Save the King. Hmph. Neither of them compare to my blade."

Amalia rushed over to them, the Ascian Deudalaphon right behind her. "Bea, Leo! Everyone, we must flee!" Azionne and Edge were still locked in combat with Emmerololth and Caius, respectively, and did not seem aware of what was going on around them. Styrm didn't think they  _could_  flee – more Garlean soldiers than he had ever seen before flooded the plaza. All of the Resistance members that chose to stay and fight lay dead. He looked around for Cole, forgetting about the Midlander, but he was nowhere to be found.

Styrm nearly dropped his sword in hopelessness.  _All of this was such folly… We never had a chance_.

Granny peered suspiciously at the circlets as Celes stomped down on Leo, restraining him. "What are those?"

Terra placed one of the circlets on his head, which automatically fastened to his skull. "I've decided to call it a Slave Crown. I made it myself in Garlemald's labs." The moment it fastened to Leo, he groaned in pain and his eyes rolled back. "Garlean ingenuity has no bounds."

"Leo!" Beatrix shouted. Celes let go of him and moved to her, using both hands to hold her down as she flailed.

Amalia ran toward them, hand outstretched and tears in her eyes. "Stop! What're you doing to my friends?" Deudalaphon hovered behind her, smirking.

Styrm, Baithin, and even Ndai followed her lead, but Terra incanted another wind spell and launched them all backward. "Resistance rats. I'm disappointed. The only ones who were remotely a challenge were Beatrix and Leo. Who are you to stand with them?"

Leo stood. Celes did not bother to try and stop him. His eyes were glazed over, his voice mechanical. "Several of them are Riskbreakers from the Thanalan region of Eorzea, members of a rebel group against the Garlean Empire."

Styrm gaped. "What kind of sorcery is this?"

Leo continued, pointing at Amalia. "That one is the last living royal heir to Ala Mhigo, Princess Sara. Leader of the Resistance."

Amalia's eyes widened in terror as Terra smirked at her. "Oh, is that so?" Terra asked. She twirled the second circlet in her hand.

Beatrix tried to shake off Celes, to no avail. "Amalia, run! Get away from here!"

"As tempting as it is to have a royal slave, I do believe an Ala Mhigan princess would make a much better prisoner," said Terra. With one smooth movement, she fastened the second circlet onto Beatrix.

"No!" Amalia screamed. She tried to rush at Terra herself, but Baithin and Ndai held her back.

"Amalia, no!" Ndai said. "We have to get out of here!"

"Interesting," said Deudalaphon. "Take the princess. She may have something we need. Forget the others – they matter not." He turned to the other Ascian. "Emmerololth!" He said something else to her that Styrm couldn't understand, and they both vanished in one last swirl of shadow magic.

"Damn them!" Azionne yelled. Her axe, held in one hand, dragged on the ground behind her while her staff fizzled with aether in her other hand. Her cloak was gone and her dress was ragged. "Where did they go?"

"Azionne, forget them! We have to leave!" Granny said. "Edge!" She called to him just as he crossed his arms to take a punch from Caius, sending him sliding backwards. "Help us clear a path through the soldiers!"

"How are we even going to get out of this?" Baithin wondered. "Amalia, Azionne, come on!"

Terra stepped forward. "Do you really believe it will be that easy? My soldiers surround this plaza on all sides. There is no escape."

As if in answer to her, the whole south side of the plaza flared up and exploded, scattering the Garlean soldiers. More rushed to fill their place, but Edge took advantage of the confusion and bounded toward them, throwing soldiers over his shoulders as if they weighed nothing to him. "C'mon, everyone!"

Styrm and the others, staggering from the reverberation from the blast, took a little longer to compose themselves enough to flee. Styrm had to catch his grandmother as she faltered.

"There's our ticket out of here!" said Ndai, clapping her hands together.

"That'd be Cole and his bombs," said Amalia. She glanced at Beatrix and Leo, who stood perfectly still. Even Terra and Celes took a moment to recover from the blasts.

"Let's hurry," said Granny. More soldiers already began to take their place, so the old conjurer pointed her staff forward as they ran toward the south exit. "Water!"

"Fire!" Azionne shouted. The combined magical assault cleared a path, and Styrm almost cried out in joy.

Caius rushed toward them, livid. His long hair, previously smooth and shining, had been disturbed in his fight with Edge and now pointed in all directions. "What are you doing? Get them!" More soldiers flooded after the group, but arrows from above felled them.

Amalia trailed behind, but Granny gripped her wrist and urged her along. "Come! Do you want the entire Resistance to fall apart?"

"But my friends…" Amalia said, looking back to the plaza.

"Beatrix and Leo wanted you to flee," said Granny. "Pull yourself together, dear. Where are we going?"

Amalia took a deep breath as she ran and set her gaze ahead. "To the Undercity. We can lose them there."

Styrm nearly jumped out of his armor in fear when he heard the heavy feet of Magitek armor stomping after them, and he glanced back only long enough to see both Terra and Celes chasing them through the streets from atop their own reapers. "They're still coming!" he shouted.

Then Styrm saw dozens of Ala Mhigans appearing out of side alleys as they rushed past, all of them unarmed, all just regular citizens. They filled the street behind Styrm and the others, facing Terra and Celes as they approached. There were even children among them.

"Wow!" said Baithin. "All these people!"

Amalia faltered again, noticing all of the people blocking the Magitek armors' route. "Everyone… Please be safe!"

"Please," said Granny. "We have to..."

"I know," said Amalia, interrupting her. "Now's our chance. There's a way into the sewers down this way. Follow me!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Got to see red magic in action! I view them as a DPS class that can chain together their own magic combos, with plenty of support skills.
> 
> Please review!


	10. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gogonegi and the others flee from Ala Mhigo, putting the city behind them after failing to retrieve the Lunatic Pandora. As the group adjusts to having a new person, Ndai, on their crew, they get their first view of a Garlean city as they fly to Ilsabard - Vector, the bridge between the continents.

The waterways beneath Ala Mhigo emptied quickly as the parade went on.

Gogonegi bustled from chamber to chamber, doing whatever he could to keep his hands busy. He tidied up the Riskbreakers' and Gullwings' temporary living areas, where they stayed while with the Resistance. He tinkered with his mechanical weaponry, which he never actually used yet. He had built them with Cogflox, his goblin assistant, but Gogo was never much of a fighter. He had already taken the contraptions apart and put them back together three times since the parade started. His gun, which was about as unused as the other contraptions, had been cleaned in and out. As he sat and worried, he wished he could go back to the  _Fahrenheit_  – he hadn't seen it since they landed in the Tomb of the Forgotten Queen days ago.

Some Resistance stragglers told him that there was a problem up in the city above, and that fighting had broken out. He mulled over what Azionne told him before she left – if things went wrong, he had to get through the tunnels leading to the Tomb by himself and pick them up from the city in the airship. That idea terrified him, though.

Now almost all of the Resistance members who had stayed behind went off into the city, leaving him alone in the sewers. He wished Nathan or Aran'sae or Mhastoum were here. They might have known what to do. Even Mipije or Ahtynwyb – anyone stronger than him would do.

As he fidgeted with his goggles, wondering if he should go fetch the airship, he heard banging and heavy feet approaching. Gogo jumped up in fear and shakily grabbed his gun, but he exhaled in relief when he saw that it was Edge. All of the others, Amalia, Cole, and Ndai included, followed behind him.

"Gogo!" said Edge, grinning. "Am I glad to see you!"

All of them were ragged, covered in dirt or dust or blood or worse, and looked liable to collapse at any moment. Gogo flailed his arms. "What happened? Is everyone okay? What were those explosions? Are soldiers coming? Did you get the Lunatic Pandora?"  _Can we all go home?_

Ndai answered his barrage of questions without a hitch. "Terra and Celes are scary powerful, kind of, Cole's bombs, probably, and no," she said quickly.

"There were foot soldiers right behind you all," said Cole, reloading his crossbow. "They've already tracked us to the sewers. It'd be easy to lose them any other time, but they're determined to catch us now."

Amalia stared down at the ground. "Bea and Leo… How could this happen? Damn them!"

Gogo blanched.  _Does that mean they're… dead_?

Edge clenched his fists. "We'll have to fight. We can get them back!"

Granny put a hand on his shoulder. "No, Edge. You're a Riskbreaker, not a Resistance member. This is not our fight."

Styrm doubled over, panting. "So what shall we do?"

"We can continue east, right?" Baithin asked, putting a hand on his hip. "To Ilsabard. Terra's bringing the Lunatic Pandora there. Our mission hasn't changed."

Azionne scowled. "And the Ascians will likely be with her. I know not what they have planned, and I mean to find out."

Edge gestured angrily at them. "So, what? We just abandon the Resistance and save our own skins?"

Granny shook her head. "The Resistance does not need us. We have our own people we need to save."

"She's right," said Amalia. "Get out of the city while you still can."

Edge turned to the Resistance members. "Cole, Amalia – you have to come with us. It's not safe here for you."

Gogo heard more crashes echoing in the distance. "They're coming!" He hurriedly packed up all his things, trying not to accidentally fire off his gun.

Amalia looked at Edge and shook her head, sadness in her eyes. "I can't. My place is in Ala Mhigo, with my people. I can never abandon them."

Cole grinned, tightening his bandana. "Right, Princess. Good answer. I'm with ya." He hefted his crossbow and even a pouch of bombs. "I'm off to meet our Garlean visitors."

Edge lowered his eyes. "So… what, we just leave you all behind? I already had to do this in the Goblet with Ashe and the others. I don't want to again."

Amalia stuck her hand into the bag slung over her shoulders. "I don't know what you came here to do, but I know it had to do with that Lunatic Pandora thing those hooded mages had. And I know better than anyone that a mission is important above all else. You all have to go, Edge."

Baithin clenched his fist in front of him, giving Amalia an encouraging grin. "And you can bet that if we come across Beatrix and Leo, we'll knock some sense back into them!"

Amalia smiled at him. "Please do. I'm counting on all of you now – all of Aldenard, except Sharlayan, belongs to the Garleans. And a city of scholars is not like to last long. I don't know if there's anything you can do by yourselves, but… we can't wait around for the Warriors of Light right now."

Azionne scoffed and crossed her arms. "Don't you dare compare us to them. I care not for the good of the realm."

Cole looked down the tunnel. "Right, Mal, let's make this quick. They're coming."

Amalia nodded. "You all know the way out by now, I trust?"

Gogo played with his fingers. "Um, I do…"

"Good." She pulled a light grey stone from her bag and held it out to Edge. He took it, his brow scrunched in confusion. It was slightly larger than his palm.

"What is this?" Edge asked.

"It's an ancient relic belonging to the royal family for generations," said Amalia. "We call it the Dusk Shard. I'm entrusting it to you – it must not fall into Garlean hands. It's far more valuable than any treasure, at least according to my father before he was killed."

Edge clenched his fists again. "What? No! Hold onto it yourself – you're not getting captured!"

"No, you must go! I'm not going to risk it!" She pushed Edge toward a different tunnel – one that Gogo knew led to the outside of the city. Styrm and Granny were the first ones to go down it, nodding in farewell to Cole and Amalia. "The stone glowed on the day that magic in Eorzea went out of control. It is connected to all of this – it has to be."

"Why me?" Edge asked. Baithin and Azionne went next, the former offering a wave and wishes of good fortune.

"Because I trust you. You're an old friend, a Riskbreaker, and an Ala Mhigan. I can think of no better hands for it," she said. She gave him one final push as gunshots resounded down the entrance tunnel. "Hurry! And Ndai, you too!"

Ndai, who had previously been standing with Cole, looked at her in confusion. "Me? Why?"

"Because I know you don't want to put your life on the line for this," said Amalia. "It's okay. You don't belong with the Resistance anyway, and I think you know that, deep down."

Ndai frowned and hesitated, but hugged her. "I'm sorry, Amalia."

"Go with Edge and the others," she said. "Maybe you'll find your path."

Edge scooped up Gogo into his arms as he ran past. "What're you waiting for, little guy? We need you to guide us through the tunnels!"

Gogo looked back at Amalia and Cole, who had closed the sluice gates in a last attempt to hold off the soldiers. They had their weapons ready, and Gogo didn't want to think of what could happen as the two Resistance members covered their escape. "I'll do my best," Gogo said, from under Edge's arm. Ndai quickly caught up and ran alongside them.

The rogue, too, glanced back in worry. "I hate this. I'm always running."

Edge flinched as they heard bullets ricocheting off of metal somewhere behind them. "Me too."

None of them turned back.

* * *

 

Their flight through the sewers mostly passed without incident, though they ran into far too many slimes and toad-like creatures for Gogo's liking. That had hampered their progress slightly, but the winding canals proved to be too difficult for the Garleans to navigate. At the sewer's exit, an enormous snake that was about twice as tall as Styrm blocked their path, but all seven of them managed to take it down – even Gogo, whose gun proved to be quite effective against the creature's scaly hide.

They finally exited the tunnel system and sealed it shut behind them. Gogo breathed in the fresh air as they passed the decaying statue of Queen Hilda. They didn't linger and didn't exchange any words with each other, silently boarding the  _Fahrenheit_ , which was thankfully untouched except by the prying Resistance members in their absence. They had made sure to check for stowaways this time as they flew away from the Tomb of the Forgotten Queen and Ala Mhigo, headed northeast to Ilsabard.

The mood felt even more somber than after they fled the Goblet, if that was possible. Like last time, Gogo tried to keep himself busy and out of the bridge, going to the engine room constantly to check on things. He lay down in his pile of pillows and blankets in the corner of the engine room, wondering just how far this journey would take him. He was already further away from home – Limsa Lominsa, where he had been raised – than he had ever been in his life. He never wanted to be an adventurer. Gogo's only dream was to join Garlond Ironworks, and while he had met several Ironworks engineers, they had told him he was too young to join at sixteen.

Though he supposed he was happiest on an airship in general. It was just the destination that worried him.

"Wow! This engine room is pretty neat when it's in action!"

Gogo sat up with a start, spotting Ndai at the engine room's entrance looking around at all the machinery. He didn't know what to think of her yet. "Yes," he said. "What're you doing down here? None of the others really come to visit…"

"Oh, just exploring the airship," she said, stretching. "I was cooped up in the cargo hold on the way here, so it's nice to be out and about. But it's all still a bit cramped, if you ask me." She glanced at his pile of bedding. "Do you sleep down here? What, do Edge, Styrm, and Baithin take up too much room in the boys' cabin?"

"I just like being here," he said, shrugging. "The engine's noises comfort me."

"Oh," she said. She didn't seem to be as upset about Ala Mhigo as the others, so Gogo wondered if she really cared or if she just hid it well. "Anyway, the others are figuring out what to do next in the bridge, and they want you there."

"Oh," Gogo said. He didn't know what else to say to that. "Okay." He followed her through the door and down the short hall to the bridge, where he walked in on Azionne, Edge, and Baithin conversing.

"…I had to leave my axe behind in Ala Mhigo," said Azionne with disdain. "My rod is suitable, but it is currently all I have."

Edge shrugged. "Check the cargo hold, I don't know. The Gullwings might have more weapons."

Azionne sniffed. "I already did. It is all junk."

"Then why are you complaining to me?"

"I am  _not_  complaining. You are all just dreadfully boring, and there is nothing else to say. You're a touchy one lately. I recall you being an incessant wellspring of positivity some moons ago."

"Sorry I've had to leave behind most of my friends, the love of my life, and my city for the second time," Edge said, scowling.

Baithin laughed from the helm. "Azionne, trying to make conversation? Well, I lost my bow in all the fighting. I know how you feel – your own personal weapon is hard to replace." He placed a hand on the sheathed rapier at his belt. "I guess I'll have to make do with this from now on."

Granny, standing near the map with Styrm, smiled at him. "Perhaps we can find you a suitable teacher. That weapon is native to Nozarria, a city in the northwest of Ilsabard. The Nozarrian swordsmen are a flamboyant lot, and skilled duelists with colorful capes and hats. Why, when I was a girl, I remember dueling one of them all through the night… and neither of us wielded swords!"

Styrm slapped his forehead, mortified. "Gran!"

Baithin grinned at her and shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. The best teacher is experience, from what I've learned. At least I still have my harp."  Gogo blushed at her comment, but he appreciated the attempts to lighten the mood.  

Ndai announced her presence, stifling her own giggles. "Right! I've got Gogo, so let's get to figuring out what to do now."

Azionne glanced at her. "Why should we have to include you? You're neither a Riskbreaker nor a Gullwing."

Ndai winced.

Granny clucked her tongue at Azionne. "Now, now, comments like that are uncalled for." She smiled at Ndai. "You're in our care now, dear."

Ndai rubbed her arm behind her back. "Thank you." She walked over to the map. "So, where to next?"

"Nozarria might be best, actually," Granny said. She pointed to a spot slightly east of Ala Mhigo. "We are currently here. Directly to the east of us, the city of Vector bridges Aldenard to Ilsabard, splitting the northern sea off from the Jade Sea. Nozarria is further northeast, so if we pass over Vector I should be able to navigate us from there."

"Have you been there before?" Styrm asked. "Why Nozarria?"

"I have!" Granny said, holding up a finger as if beginning a lecture. Gogo's father often made the same gesture before explaining complicated arcanima and strategems. "It's a beautiful city situated between many great lakes, though it was one of the first to fall to Emperor Solus all those years ago. It is deeper into Ilsabard than most adventurers go nowadays, but it is situated fairly evenly between Vector and Garlemald, and thus a wonderful place to obtain information about the goings-on in the Empire. Including Terra's destination. In fact, most of the continent is considered part of the Nozarrian region, and thus takes its name."

"Wow! You sure do know a lot!" said Ndai, clapping her hands together. Gogo's head spun – the only place on Ilsabard he even knew about was Garlemald itself. On the  _Fahrenheit_ 's world map, Ilsabard was the smallest of the known continents, but it seemed to have the most cities. Though it was slightly further north than Aldenard and Othard, it sat between them, and to the Garleans, it must have felt like they were in the center of the world. "I guess that makes you the official navigator of this crew, doesn't it?"

Granny gave her a wide smile. "I suppose it does. I was an adventurer many years ago, you know."

"And Baithin's the pilot, and Gogo's the engineer," she said, pointing to both of them in turn. "But who's the captain? Is it Edge?"

"Can't you show a little more tact?" Edge said, frowning. Between Ndai and Azionne, he seemed like he was ready to storm out.

"Wow, sorry I'm trying to keep us going forward instead of moping around," said Ndai, sticking out her tongue. "Forget it, Edge isn't captain material. I wonder about the rest of us? Since I want to join the Gullwings, I can be our ship's archaeologist!"

Gogo scratched his nose. "Why would an airship crew need an archaeologist?"

Ndai shrugged. "I don't know. Sounds better than dancer, thief, or stowaway."

Baithin jerked the ship's wheel, causing all of them to stumble and balance themselves. "Whoa! Sorry, everyone! Three Garlean ships just flew at us! No, four!"

Azionne clenched her staff. "What? Does this ship have cannons?"

Gogo flailed his arms. "This isn't a warship!" He rushed toward the front windows, looking outside at the Garlean single rider airships. Theirs weren't warships, either, though all of them did have cannons mounted in front. The Garlean ships, with their higher maneuverability, surrounded the  _Fahrenheit_  on all sides, though they flew alongside them. "Oh, they're not attacking."

"Could they be sky pirates or something?" Edge asked.

Styrm seemed appalled at the idea. "Sky pirates?"

"One of them is saying something through their transmitter," said Baithin, who spotted a Garlean crewman on deck first. "I think they're trying to tell us something."

"Then should we go up on deck to listen?" Styrm asked.

"I think we should blast them out of the sky with magic," said Azionne.

"No, no," said Granny. "Edge, Ndai, and Gogo – you three go up on deck to see what they want to say."

"Me?" Gogo asked. "Why me?"

"Because you know most about our airship," she said. "Now off you go, dear! You're not going to make little old me climb all the way up there, will you?"

Gogo frowned as he left the bridge with Edge and Ndai. He supposed it probably wasn't a good idea to send Azionne, who was like to get violent, but Granny Moss was anything but "little."

Up on the deck, two of the Garleans had already boarded, fastening their smaller airships to the deck's rails. They dressed as soldiers, but neither of them had weapons bared. "You have entered restricted Garlean airspace," said one of the soldiers. She gave them an imperial salute. "Present an airship pass or turn back."

Edge exchanged a glance with Gogo, shrugging. He stepped forward. "And if we don't have one?"

"If that is the case then you will turn back to Eorzea or be met with resistance. Alternatively, we will escort you to Vector where you may fill out the required documentation to get one," she answered. Her face remained impassive. Gogo didn't like the idea of facing resistance. "What is your purpose in Ilsabard, Eorzeans?"

Edge faltered for an answer, but Ndai put her hands on her hips without missing a beat. "We're a merchant vessel! Got all kinds of Eorzean weapons below deck for all Garleans willing to learn. There's a pretty high demand among your citizenry, you know, for learning some of our combat arts. I've got a contact in Garlemald who's absolutely  _thrilled_  at the prospect of obtaining a genuine marauder's axe, and…"

The soldier held up her hand and gestured to her partner, who boarded his own airship and flew away. "Right. We will escort you the short distance to Vector. Their immigration office will get you everything you need."

Ndai bowed deeply. "Thanks!" When the soldier saluted again, Ndai hastily followed suit. "Oh, silly me and my silly backwards Eorzean customs. All hail the Empire! Long live Emperor Varis!"

Edge pulled her by the arm as the soldier gave her a quizzical look before boarding her personal cruiser. "Ndai, you're overdoing it. Let's go."

Gogo frowned again as they climbed down the hatch back into the  _Fahrenheit_. "It'll be hard to get an airship pass if we have to fake being merchants," he said. "What will we do?"

"We'll manage," said Edge. "We don't have a choice, do we?"

"Is that how you're just gonna go into this? Wait and hope it works out?" Gogo asked, brow furrowed.

Edge shrugged. "Usually works for me." They reentered the bridge and filled everyone in.

"Vector?" Styrm asked. Baithin steered the airship in the direction of the Garlean soldiers, following them. It felt strange to Gogo. "What if we can't get an airship pass there?"

"Then we'll have to sneak around Ilsabard, won't we?" Baithin asked. "I'm sure others have managed it."

"Let's not give up hope just yet," said Granny, folding her hands in front of her. "Vector is the Empire's greatest port city, a bridge between Aldenard and Ilsabard, and an important crossroads. I am certain we will be able to gather plenty of information there. Even today, the Garleans are very open to travelers and traders from faraway lands, particularly the Near East. If they can attain passes, why can't we? It'd make our journey much easier."

"Oh, they weren't kidding," said Baithin, looking through the glass window. "There's Vector now."

Gogo approached the window, gaping at his first view of a true Garlean city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: With this, all seven of them have had at least one point of view chapter. I'm going to try my best to bounce fairly evenly between the seven.
> 
> And from here on out, it'll be all new content! Vector and Nozarria are my own creation, though Vector is of course a shout out to the past FF Empire city of the same name.
> 
> Please leave a comment!


	11. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the Garlean city of Vector, the group struggles to obtain an airship pass that would allow them to travel through the rest of Ilsabard. An opportunity is presented to them through the Garlean sport, blitzball, and a tournament that is taking place one moon from now in Garlemald. Meanwhile, word of an Ascian being spotted outside of the city leads Azionne to investigate.

Vector had grown since she'd last seen it, so many years ago.

The port city was situated on a literal bridge that spanned between the two continents, bringing them together as a center for trade and commerce. With the Jade Sea directly to the south, merchant ships sailed from all over the Garlean Empire and even ports in Othard and Radz-at-Hahn, situated on Thavnair further to the southeast. None of the ships flew Eorzean flags. Though with the fall of Eorzea's three city-states, Moss supposed that would change soon.

When the  _Fahrenheit_ landed on one of the open docks, Moss breathed in the salty air and almost gagged. Smog lay heavily over the port, a byproduct of all the ceruleum-powered ships. Vector did not have the same feeling of refreshing openness that Limsa Lominsa did on the Rhotano Sea. The industrial black metal alongside the salty white stones of Vector's original architecture before the Garlean occupation did not look as welcoming, either.

She noticed her grandson struck by the view of the grand bridge. The white bridge itself was a symbolic gesture, since the two continents were connected by land anyway. "Almost a hundred years ago, this port was the ancestral home of Sea Wolves," she said to Styrm. "Just like you. Though it wasn't always called Vector – that was a Garlean change."

"Do you know its real name?" Styrm asked.

"Weitwaen," she answered. "The city of White Wind."

She watched their Garlean escort fly back into the sky, among the dozens of other airships flying further east over the Vector Plains and nearby mountains. Even Moss had never seen so many airships together in her life. Gogo was mesmerized.

Ndai put a hand on her hip, grinning excitedly. "Right! Let's go find that immigration office. I'm ready to be a fake merchant."

"I think I'm going to stay here and look after the ship, maybe try the linkpearl again," said Edge. Ever since the Garleans decided to escort them to Vector, he had been trying to contact Ashelia and the others via linkpearl, to no avail. They had flown out of its range long before. He held the object Amalia gave him – the Dusk Shard – in his other hand, staring at it almost nonstop. Moss had not forgotten what Amalia said about it glowing on the same day the Lunatic Pandora had been taken from Silvertear, and thought hard about what it could mean.

"I think exploring a new city would be good for you," Moss said. "Up, up! I'd much rather have you looking out for trouble in the city."

"I will stay here to look after the ship instead," said Azionne. "I have no interest in Garlean bureaucracy."

"In that case, I'm all for Vector," said Edge, giving Azionne an uncomfortable glance as he followed the others down the ladder.

"The  _Fahrenheit_ badly needs to refuel," Gogo said. "I, um, can try to find some place that sells more, but…"

"Styr can go with you," said Moss, nodding to her grandson.

"Yes, Master Gogo! It would be an honor!" he said to the Lalafell, who blushed in embarrassment as they went off.

Moss shared a glance with the other three who were left, and they were off.  The immigration office was easy to find with all of the foreigners crowding around it. Located near the docks, it gave Moss a wonderful view of the bay and the multitude of ships and airships lined up. They four of them found themselves in quite a long queue, so Moss decided to pass the time by people watching. Crowds of Garlean sailors, soldiers, and merchants walked by, but she also saw many from distant locales, judging by their style of clothing.

A party of wizards from the southern continent of Meracydia chattered excitedly to each other, giving a wide berth to the Nozarrian duelist in rainbow clothing and a feathered hat who drunkenly shouted challenges at people as they passed by. A group of men in alchemist's robes from Radz-at-Hahn frowned deeply at a pair of tattered Doman refugees, while silver-haired Garlean children danced through the crowds, kicking a white and blue ball around. Moss smiled to herself – if truth be told, she enjoyed this opportunity to go on one last adventure. It would be nice to see how the world changed in the past forty years or so.

"Oh," said Baithin, perking up. He, Edge, and Ndai all quickly got bored waiting in the line for the immigration office, leaning against shipping crates and yawning as they stared blankly around them. "I saw a ball just like that in Ala Mhigo."

Moss looked closer at the ball the children played with, which was just slightly bigger than her head and covered in bumps. "A Garlean sport, I'd suppose."

It took an hour for the line to dwindle down, by which point the three of them looked like they were about to fall asleep on their feet. Baithin had pulled out his harp at one point in an attempt to entertain everyone around them, but a sentry forced him to quiet down. The four of them approached the immigration center's desk to see a clerk who looked about as bored as they were. "Yes?" the woman asked.

"We'd like an airship pass for going through Ilsabard," said Baithin, grinning.

"Ship name?"

"The  _Celsius_ ," he answered. The lie passed smoothly from his lips.

"Your purpose in Ilsabard?" The clerk sighed. "Official business only."

"We're weapons dealers!" said Ndai, clapping her hands together. "Dealing in rare Eorzean antiques and tools!"

The clerk rolled her eyes. "Do you have a license?"

Baithin and Ndai exchanged glances. "A license?"

"Yes," said the clerk with another sigh. "So you can sell them legally."

"Er, we do not," said Baithin, scratching his head. "But they're really nice weapons! We got them from the trader Rowena in Revenant's Toll."

"I don't even know who or what that is," said the clerk. She tapped her quill against the desk. "No paperwork, no passage."

Moss stepped forward. "In my day, no airship passes were required for traversing the continent."

"Listen, lady, that's not how things are done nowadays. Next!" she barked.

* * *

 

Baithin, Edge, and Ndai sat forlornly outside the immigration office on a set of white steps, while Moss leaned against her staff and tried to think of another solution to their problem. "It might not be a bad idea to wait in Vector," she said. "We can gather information on Terra, her plans, and her destination while we find a way to obtain a pass."

"How'd you get around back in your day, Granny?" Ndai asked.

The old woman smiled, reminiscing. "Mostly on foot, or by chocobo and ferry. Oh, I miss that old bird…"

"I don't think Azionne would be happy about that," said Edge, frowning.

Ndai stood. "Who cares about what she thinks? The longer we wait here, the longer it'll take for us to save Beatrix and Leo! Who knows how many people Terra will enslave with that weird crown of hers?"

Moss brought a finger to her chin, lowering her voice. "Yes, the feats she has managed with her Magiteknology worry me. That Slave Crown and her Para-Magic alone could turn the tide of the war."

"You speak as if the war is still going on," said Baithin. "They've already won."

"My guess is that the Garlean hold on Eorzea is tentative at best, with far fewer soldiers in each city than they've ever used before," Moss continued. "Once we return magic to the people, our forces will have no issues driving them out."

"Returning magic?" Ndai asked. "What is your goal, anyway? If I'm along for the ride, I deserve to know."

"No one asked you to come with us," said Edge. "Well, except Amalia. But you don't have to."

Ndai averted her eyes. "Where else would I go?"

"Heads up!" At the stranger's shout, Ndai's hand flung forward in front of Moss' face, smacking away the ball that launched to her head. "Sorry, sorry!"

Moss put a hand to her chest. "Thank you, Ndai." She looked at the stranger as he jogged up to them to retrieve the ball. He was a Garlean man, towering over both Baithin and Ndai, with windswept silvery blond hair and tight yellow and black clothes. "Don't worry yourself, dear."

Edge was instantly on guard. "Watch where you're kicking that next time."

He smiled sheepishly. "You've got nice reflexes!" the man said to Ndai. "Do you play?"

A trio of Sea Wolves, two women and a man, came up behind the Garlean, all dressed in similar clothing, which Moss realized was a uniform. Ndai tensed as they surrounded the group. "Er, play what?"

The Garlean man spun the ball on his fingertip. "Blitzball, of course!"

Baithin leaned forward. "Blitzball? Sorry, we're not from around here."

"No offense," he said, grinning. "But I can tell that much. Blitzball is only the most popular game in the Empire!"

Baithin, Edge, and Ndai all looked to Moss, who shrugged. "I've never heard of it," she said. It must have been after her time in Ilsabard.

"Anyway," said the Garlean, holding out his hand. "I'm Aurelius fon Doram, coach and captain of the Vector Ghosts!"

There was a slight pause as Ndai didn't know what to do with his outstretched hand, so Moss took it, recognizing the gesture. "It is a pleasure," she said. "You can call me Granny Moss. This is Ndai, and Baithin, and Edge."

Aurelius grinned. "It's hard to explain blitzball, so you should all come see it! We practice over at the stadium every evening. We're also having open tryouts, if you want to give it a go yourself!"

"Tryouts?" Baithin asked. "Even for people you just met?"

Aurelius rubbed the back of his head. "Well, this is our entire team right here. We lost five people when they decided to join the military, with the XVth Legion openly recruiting and everything. So, er, we're kind of desperate for players."

Edge crossed his arms. "We have better things to do."

Aurelius adjusted his goggles, frowning. "Well, you should come and watch, anyway. We, uh, don't really have many fans, and we're trying our best to get to Garlemald for the tournament in a few weeks."

Baithin glanced back at Moss and the others. "Actually, I'd like to come take a look. Where's your stadium?"

"Sector 10!" Aurelius said, giving him a thumb up. "You won't be disappointed! Everyone, Garlean or not, should have blitzball in their lives!"

Edge glared at the man's back as he walked away with his team. "Not happening."

"Why not?" Moss asked, her gaze stern. "If you get on the team, that could be our opportunity to get an airship pass. Being part of a blitzball league sounds like 'official business' to me."

"And who knows? It could be a lot of fun!" Baithin pointed out.

Ndai pointed at Edge. "You just don't like him 'cause he's Garlean!"

"Lower your voice," Moss told her.

Edge crossed his arms, staring petulantly in the direction Aurelius walked away. "Well, yeah. They're monsters."

Moss swatted his shoulder. "Not all of them. That boy isn't a soldier. I'm sure he has lost just as much from this war as you have."

Edge made a show of looking around. "I don't know. Looks like he has his home to me."

Moss hit him again. "Not all Garleans are evil, you know. I befriended several in my travels. Allegiance mattered not to me. That is what it means to be an adventurer."

"I'm not an adventurer," said Edge. "I'm a Riskbreaker." He put his hands on his hips and averted his eyes, lost in thought. "But I can't think of any other options, so I suppose we could watch their practice for a bell or two."

Granny raised an eyebrow at him. As much as he tried to hide it, she knew him well enough to know that he was as interested in blitzball as Baithin was.

* * *

 

They all met up on the bridge of the  _Fahrenheit_  shortly after. Azionne, predictably, thought going to the Ghosts' blitzball practice was a stupid waste of time.

"It's our best way of legally getting around the Garlean Empire," Baithin argued. "Ndai's merchant idea didn't work."

"Well, excuse me," said Ndai, rolling her eyes.

Azionne crossed her arms. "Let us assume you do manage to get on their team. What if someone recognizes you?"

"I'm sure Garlean military officials have much better things to do than watching games," said Baithin. "And I may be wrong, but the Ascians don't strike me as the type."

Styrm and Gogo burst into the bridge. "Everyone! We found out something big!" said Gogo. His brow creased in worry.

Styrm saluted before speaking, though Moss wasn't sure why. "There are rumors in town of a black hooded figure heading into the mountains to the east of here."

"Across the Vector Plains," Gogo continued. "To a place called Maluke Pass."

Baithin put a hand on his hip. "I guess everyone's looking out for the Ascians after the parade in Ala Mhigo."

"Then while you all play your game, I will go to Maluke Pass," Azionne said. "On foot, if I have to."

Moss frowned. "It could be dangerous."

"I don't think chasing after those Ascians is a good idea," said Edge. "We couldn't even touch them in Ala Mhigo."

"It matters not," said Azionne. She already made her way toward the door. "If I observe them long enough, I may be able to discern a weakness."

"Don't let your idea of vengeance cloud your judgment," Moss told her. "Do you intend to go alone?"

"Well, I'm not going," said Ndai, hugging herself. "Those guys are scary."

"If I go I'd miss the Ghosts' blitzball practice," said Baithin. "And, er, I don't want to lose our chance of getting an airship pass." Everyone gave him a blank stare, noting where his priorities were.

"I will accompany Lady Azionne," said Styrm, speaking up loudly after a moment. "In case… In case something goes awry."

"I feel protected already," said Azionne, rolling her eyes. She strode over to the map. "What is our fastest method of getting there?"

Gogo adjusted his goggles. "Well, um, while we were out I saw that there are short distance three-passenger airships available for rental," he said. "Just for going around the Vector Plains and sightseeing, so we don't need an airship pass for that."

"Splendid," said Azionne. "We should reach Maluke Pass by nightfall. Then I suppose you will come as well, Gogonegi."

"To find an A-Ascian?" he asked, quivering. "Why me?"

"Other than Baithin, you're the only one who can fly an airship," Azionne said. "Come. We must depart."

"I do not like this," Moss said. And she liked the idea of Styrm and Gogo accompanying her least of all. "With room for only three, I cannot come with you to provide support."

"I will not engage the Ascian in combat," said Azionne. "As I said, I will only observe."

"If, for whatever reason, you are forced into fighting them…" Moss locked her gaze with Azionne, her eyes hard. "You will do everything in your power to ensure Gogonegi and my grandson come to no harm."

Azionne broke the stare first. "I can make no such promises."

Moss clenched her fists. " _Azionne_." Her voice was like a whip. "I want no one here to get caught up in your foolish quest for vengeance. Do what you like with yourself – but that path will only lead to destruction that no one here will be part of." Her voice lowered. "If you come back here without them, you will face a wrath far worse than that of the Ascians."

She had never seen Azionne look so stunned. Her eyes were wide and her lips parted, but she quickly composed herself and turned her chin away. "Very well, Whispering Moss." The Elezen hurried out of the bridge. "Gogonegi, Styrmyrgan. Let's go."

After they were gone, Ndai blinked in surprise. "Wow."

"Never thought I'd live to see someone take Azionne down a notch," said Edge, whistling appreciatively.

"Nice one, Granny," said Baithin. He clenched his fist in front of him, grinning. "Now let's go find Sector 10 and that blitzball stadium!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: I'm a blitzball freak, don't look at me.
> 
> Any comments/reviews/criticism is appreciated! :)


	12. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After hearing rumors of an Ascian in Maluke Pass, the unlikely team of Azionne, Styrmyrgan, and Gogonegi head east out of Vector to investigate.

Azionne did not often feel ill while riding ships, whether they were in the air or otherwise.

This time, though, she had to use all of her willpower to keep from spilling out the contents of her stomach as they soared across the Vector Plains to Maluke Pass.

The small, three passenger open-air airships rented from Vector were horrid contraptions, and Azionne thought that theirs was liable to fall out of the sky at any moment, even if they were incapable of flying particularly high. The engine roared, drowning out every other sound except for the occasional  _pop_  or  _bang_ and accompanying sudden lurch. She was not a religious person by any means, but she found herself thanking all of the Twelve for the bench in the center of the open air deck that she and Styrmyrgan were strapped to. It did not stop her body from occasionally jerking into Styrm's hulking armored form, but it did keep her from being thrown off the side of the ship.

The Roegadyn in question had his eyes firmly shut while his hands clamped the sides of the bench, his lips moving in what Azionne could only assume was a silent prayer. He looked paler than usual. Gogonegi, meanwhile, stood in the front of the ship holding onto the wheel with what appeared to be all of his strength. They passed half a dozen other similar airships in the sky, but none of them seemed to be struggling as hard as theirs.

Through it all, she barely noticed when the snow-capped peaks of the Maluke Pass loomed closer and their airship touched down where the Vector Plains ended. Styrmyrgan promptly unstrapped himself and proceeded to get sick over the side of the airship.

Azionne leaned on her staff as she forced herself to her feet, seriously considering frying Gogo on the spot. "I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are never the pilot of the  _Fahrenheit_."

The Lalafell pouted. "It wasn't my piloting!" he protested. "They just gave me a very old ship."

"Then I will make them rue the day they rented us a faulty airship," said Azionne, clenching her fists. She suspected if it had anything to do with the fact that none of them were Garlean. She glanced at the distant Garlean castrum across the plains – Castrum Cometas, the westernmost Garlean stronghold on this continent – with a curse on her lips.

She climbed down the ladder and took a deep breath as she looked behind them, over the Vector Plains, composing herself. Vector city's white towers were far away now, as was any help Azionne and the others would need if things went sour with the Ascian in the mountain pass. Though Styrm and Gogo were perhaps the weakest of their group, Azionne truly did not expect things to turn sour this time. She would control any urges she had to blast the Ascian away, unlike what she caused at the parade in Ala Mhigo. She knew that it was likely her fault that the assassination failed, so she resolved to fix things by learning anything she could about the Ascians before attacking again.

Furthermore, Granny's words upon their parting rang heavily in her ears. She stole a glance to Styrm, who was doubled over in the grass, and Gogo, who awkwardly patted his back.  _They are my responsibility now, I suppose_.

_Who are you kidding, dearie? You don't protect anyone – only kill, kill, kill!_

_Silence_ , Azionne thought.  _I do not want to hear anything from you. I have a task and I must stay focused._

 _You'll just mess it all up again, you know_ , the voice said.  _None of the others trust you as it is._

_I said to be silent!_

Ever since her self-imposed exile to the Black Shroud, where she delved deeper into Voidsent magicks than she ever had before, she bore scars from her attempts to gain power. One such scar was the one plaguing her mind, a Voidsent that had latched onto her for its own ends. But she supposed there were worse prices one could pay for the power to vanquish an Ascian.

The wind blustered against the three of them and howled through the mountains, bringing an icy chill with it. Azionne hugged her cloak tighter to her body as she approached the other two. "Shall we proceed?"

"Why couldn't we have walked here?" Styrm moaned. "The plains seem nice, and there are not many monsters that I can see…"

"That would have taken far too much time," Azionne snapped at him. "The Ascians move through dark portals that they can open and close at will. We may already be too late."

"If they can do that, why would they go through Maluke Pass?" Gogo asked. "The lady at the airship rental said that no one really goes through here anymore since airship travel became so popular. Most people from Vector just fly right over the mountains to Garlemald."

"There must be something in here that they want," said Azionne, staring up the rocky path that ended at the open mouth of a tunnel far above them. "We must hurry."

Through years of disuse, the icy caverns inside Maluke Pass had become perilous to walk through. Rimy paths concealed treacherous holes that cracked under Styrm's feet more than once as they progressed. Azionne had to lead the way with her fire magic, clearing through barricades of rock and ice and the occasional snow weasel creature that attacked them. Other wintry beastkin crawled through the tunnels, which were hard to see as the whole place was dimly lit by light filtering through adjacent tunnels leading outside. Light reflected off some of the ice formations, mesmerizing Styrm and Gogo.

"Focus," Azionne told them, single-handedly fending off another round of weasels. Styrm had his sword drawn, but apparently found it difficult to strike the fast-moving creatures as they skittered across the ice. Gogo pulled out a round mechanism from his pack, pressing a button in its side to release spinning blades that propelled it into the air. Another pair of blades unfolded from its bottom, which cut a swathe through a pair of burly blue-furred beastkin with powerful jaws.

Grinning at his success, Gogo did not notice a third beastkin bounding toward him, its slobbering mouth open wide.

"Master Gogo!" Styrm shouted, rushing toward him. Gogo turned to the creature, eyes wide, and fumbled for his gun. With a loud  _bang_ , he managed to fell the creature with a well-timed bullet. The noise sent the other creatures scurrying away.

"I'm doing it!" Gogo said, beaming at the corpse just ilms from him. "Looks like I can actually fight after all!"

"Well done, Master Gogo!" said Styrm with a cheer.

"You fool!" Azionne spat. "The Ascian must have heard that echoing throughout the whole tunnel!"

Gogo winced. "I'm sorry…"

She was about to tell him off further when a bestial roar resounded further down the icy tunnel. Styrm nearly dropped his sword when an enormous bear with blue fur appeared in their path, rearing back on its hind legs with another roar that almost made Azionne sway on her feet.

"A bear!" Styrm exclaimed unnecessarily. "We must have woken it!"

Cursing, Azionne prepared a spell, knowing that any hope they had of spying on the Ascian was lost. "Fire!"

The fireball launched from her staff, but when it hit the creature it dissipated harmlessly. Instead, it only seemed to enrage the beast, which charged right at her.

 _Let me kill it_! The Voidsent inside of her screamed in pleasure.

"Blizzard!" Ice exploded outward from her feet when she swung her staff, stopping the bear in its tracks. Before she could do anything else, it roared again and lunged free from the ice, causing her to scramble backwards rather ungracefully. Her sudden movement to dodge made her slip on the ice, her shoes losing their grip. She fell right on her backside, staring right up at the bear as it stood to its full height, claws raised.

Before it could crush her, Styrm launched his whole body at it, slamming his shield with enough force to knock the bear backward. Another one of Gogo's mechanisms circled behind it, shooting a spray of bullets from the air. The beastkin roared in pain and lunged at Styrm, its claws raking across his armor. The Roegadyn responded with a shout and a swing of his blade, drawing blood as it cut across the beast's thick blue hide.

It shrank back, crying softly, and Azionne thought it would retreat. Instead, aether swirled around it, covering the bear in a white glow that healed its wounds.

"Magic?" Gogo asked, stunned. "But how?"

Azionne stood, her brow raised in confusion. "That's impossible.  _Maybe_  a creature could cast such a spell in Eorzea, but certainly not in Ilsabard. There is not enough aether in this land."

Styrm raised his sword and shield. "Could it be the Lunatic Pandora and Legatus Terra's doing?"

Once it finished casting its spell, the bear roared again, louder than ever. Azionne prepared another fire spell, but she noticed the air around them getting even colder. Her breath frosted in her face as the roar lengthened, and she felt more aether focusing on the beast. Before she could shout a warning to the others, ice formed in front of its maw, shooting towards them. Shards of ice cut across her skin while snow chilled her to the bone almost as much as an Ishgardian winter. She hugged her cloak close to her, unable to concentrate enough to cast another spell.

A loud crash of rock against ice made her look up, where she spotted a boulder that had fallen into the path between Styrm and the bear. It kicked up a cloud of dust and ice, but it halted the bear's ice roar and sent it scurrying down a different tunnel in fear. Azionne shivered, but sighed in relief.

"So… cold!" said Gogo, hugging himself.

"Have some fire crystals to warm yourselves up, then." Azionne looked above them, spotting a man in a black cowl who tossed a bag down at them. Styrm caught it as a reflex, revealing a set of glowing crystals inside, as he had said. Azionne gripped her staff again, thinking he was their Ascian, but quickly realized she did not have the same feeling from seeing him that she did at the parade when she spotted Emmerololth.

"Who are you?" Azionne asked him, her eyes narrow.

"Now, now, is that any way to greet your savior?" He had a mocking voice, smooth and low. The man jumped down from the ledge, deftly landing on top of the boulder he had pushed toward the bear. "I'm just a fellow traveler."

"We are grateful," said Styrm, holding one of the fire crystals and passing another to Gogo.

The man's bright blond hair and third eye marked him as Garlean. "You received those in Eorzea," Azionne pointed out.

The Voidsent in her mind cackled.  _Ooh, he smells nice. Reminds me of home_!

Azionne crossed her arms. "And you have been touched by the Void."

The man paused and pulled back his hood, giving her a clearer look at him. Scruff lined his jaw. "How do you know that?"

She recognized him now. He did not seem to be armed, so she did not bother to blast him away with a spell. "Why would I tell you that, Nero tol Scaeva?"

"Nero tol Scaeva?" Gogo exclaimed, eyes wide. "Truly? Even I have heard of him!"

The former legatus raised an eyebrow. "So you know me. What, did I personally wrong you in that silly war back in Eorzea? No hard feelings, friend."

Azionne laughed. "Not quite. In fact, it may have been the other way around – I am a member of the Riskbreakers. I thought my allies managed to kill you in the Praetorium." Azionne herself had not personally joined the main attack on Castrum Meridianum, which the Riskbreakers initiated before the Eorzean Alliance could form a concentrated attack together. Their move had annoyed the three grand companies, but it had helped to clear a path for the Warriors of Light to get to Gaius and his fearsome Ultima Weapon. While Ashelia and the others fought in the center of the Praetorium, Azionne used her magic to cause chaos on the outside.

Recognition passed across Nero's face. "Ah. Well, I am sorry to say that the Riskbreakers and Warriors of Light both failed in their attempts at just that. Though the Warriors of Light and I have recently buried the hatchet, you could say. I would like to do the same with you, since I am horribly outnumbered and unarmed at the moment." She wondered if his connection to the Void had anything to do with whatever recently happened between him and the Warriors of Light.

Styrm kept a hand on his sword. "What are you doing here? Why would you fake your death?" The attack on Castrum Meridianum had taken place before he joined the Riskbreakers, so he had never met Nero.

"Traveling through Maluke Pass, just like you lot," he answered.

"We were looking for someone," said Gogo, who seemed somewhat star struck at the sight of Nero. Azionne rolled her eyes – of course he would be a secret appreciator of one of the Empire's greatest minds.

Azionne mentally cursed – the Ascians had probably never been here. "Someone had mistaken you for our target," she said, glaring at Nero. "Why would you traverse Maluke Pass on foot? Don't you have airships? A military escort? Castrum Cometas is only a short distance away."

The Garlean shrugged. "Terribly sorry to disappoint." He crossed his arms. "Faking my death could be misconstrued as desertion, you see, so I have to lay low as I make my way back to Garlemald to argue my case. I would much rather go there on my own terms rather than in chains. I could never give that damnable Terra the satisfaction."

Azionne was suspicious of the man, but gestured for Styrm to stand down. "This coward is not a threat to us. Any status he had in Garlemald will likely be gone now, even if he manages to stay out of prison."

Styrm glanced back at her. "But Lady Azionne, he is an enemy to the Riskbreakers!"

"He is not even worth that anymore," Azionne replied. "Let him be on his way."

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice for saving your sorry lives, but that is not my place to say," said Nero, giving them a smirk and a shrug. "Well then, until next we meet."

Azionne crossed her arms as she watched him continue down the path. When he was out of their view, she turned to Gogo. "This has been a waste of time. Let us return to Vector… and try not to let us fall out of the sky."

"Was it really a good idea to let him go?" Gogo asked with a frown. "He, um, might have known about the Ascians."

"He is not working with them anymore," said Azionne. She took the bag of fire crystals from Styrm. "Perhaps if we are lucky the Garleans will decide he is a traitor and have him executed." Though she could not bring herself to truly care either way.

"He did not seem to be a bad person," said Styrm.

As they walked back the way they came, Azionne glanced at the two, who now walked with her instead of behind her. "I will say this quickly," she said. "You two did well today. I expected a bumbling fool and a coward, but you two saved me from that bear."

Styrm stopped walking and saluted her. "Yes, Lady Azionne!"

"Ugh, gods, loosen up just a little," she said, rolling her eyes. "The constant salutes are grating to me. But do keep calling me 'Lady.' I like that."

Gogo smiled, which was a rarity in her presence. "I'll try not to disappoint you, A-Azionne," he said.

"Right," she said. "Now let us hurry to that poor excuse of an airship before I change my mind and decide to make us all walk back to Vector."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: The Crystal Tower questline was totally not the last we have seen of Nero. I don't see him doing anything in Ishgard, so I put him into this story! This was a really fun chapter to write for some reason.
> 
> Any feedback would be appreciated!


	13. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Azionne, Styrm, and Gogonegi head out of the city to investigate rumors of an Ascian sighting, Baithin and the others go to the Vector Ghosts' blitzball tryouts.

Since the city of Vector was mostly round, it was split into sectors like slices from a pie. As such, it wasn't difficult to find Sector 10, where the Vector Ghosts played blitzball, but every time Baithin stopped to ask for directions, people made snide comments or talked down to them. He supposed it had to do with the fact that they weren't Garlean, but he realized the real reason once they passed through the gate into Sector 10.

Almost none of the people who walked through Sector 10 were Garlean, and all of their clothes were ragged and dirty. The stone buildings were in significant disrepair and overcrowded, while some people made homes out of Garlean scrap metal. The ceruleum smog from the rest of the city settled here the most, staining the previously white buildings an ugly shade of blue. The people, who all looked gaunt, sick, and lethargic, stared up at the group as they made their way to the shabby blitzball stadium, which seemed the most lively in comparison to the rest of the area. Overall, Sector 10 seemed like a combination of Pearl Lane in Ul'dah and the Undercity in Ala Mhigo, and somehow even worse than both of them.

The blitzball stadium was more like a deep, round depression in the ground, and it was easy to find because of all the people. A giant black slab of metal stuck out of the ground, curved into a semicircle shape. As the group approached, it started to spin slowly, powered by an unseen force, which Baithin suspected was mechanical in nature. Water jets shot out of the ground around the structure, but as they watched it Baithin noticed the water did not fall back to the ground, and instead started to fill into a sphere shape.

"Whoa!" Ndai exclaimed. "What's holding up all that water?"

Edge moved to the front of the crowd. "Is it that spinning piece of metal? But nothing's touching it!"

Baithin's face lit up in joy. "Is blitzball a water sport, then?"

"Yes, it is!" Baithin spun to the source of the voice, spotting Aurelius approaching them. "Glad to see you all showed up. Our team is gonna have a short practice game so potential players can see how we play, and then we'll begin the tryouts!"

"How does that work?" Moss asked. "Is that some sort of Magitek?"

Aurelius grinned. "Garlean machina at its finest!"

After he went off to join his team, Baithin and the others merged with the crowd of people watching. The rest of the audience – some of which were potential players, Baithin assumed – had much more vigor than the rest of Sector 10, cheering as the water sphere filled up and the black metal kept spinning. Baithin felt compelled to join in, and even Edge seemed more comfortable in a crowd of non-Garleans.

When the sphere filled and the orb of water hung in the air, the swimmers entered. At first, Baithin had no idea how they were able to hold their breath underwater for so long until he noticed a mask that covered their mouths and spit out bubbles, which he suspected let them breathe underwater.

Aurelius split their team of four into two and he started slow by passing the ball between the three Sea Wolves. After that, he launched the ball high up and two of them went after it at high speed, fighting with each other over control of the ball. The one who grabbed it managed to shake the other person off and toss it to Aurelius, who swam toward the opposite side of the sphere pool, where a glowing red triangle floated in place. One of his other teammates jetted into his path, tackling Aurelius with his bigger Sea Wolf bulk, but the Garlean managed to hold onto the ball. Once he was in front of the red triangle, Aurelius let the ball go and flipped backwards, delivering a hard kick that sent the blitzball bulleting to the triangle. When it hit, a loud buzzing noise sounded instead of launching the ball out of the pool, and the crowd roared.

Baithin pumped his fist into the air. "Wow! I want to play!"

"What lovely theatrics," said Granny.

"I can't see," said Ndai, pouting. "Everyone's too tall!" In response, Edge joyfully lifted her up onto his shoulders, taking her by surprise, but from her new vantage point she joined in on the cheering.

After a couple more rounds, Baithin started to pick up on the rules. The object was to kick the ball into the other team's triangle while avoiding grabs and tackles from opponents, using defensive or offensive strategies that involved proper placement or passing the ball back and forth to elude someone else. At one point, Baithin pushed his way to the front of the crowd, enamored with the fast-paced game.

Aurelius and his team left the sphere pool when the sun started to set, removing their goggles and underwater breathing masks. He clapped his hands and stood in front of the crowd. "Right! Everyone, form a queue and Aiswyb will hand out the aquabreathers and goggles to whoever would like to try out for a spot on the team. Even though only six players on a team can be in the sphere pool at once, we'll be recruiting at least four, so just about any position is available."

Baithin turned to the others as they joined the queue for the aquabreathers. "We should all try out!"

"Even Granny?" Ndai asked, grinning.

The old woman laughed. "I have no doubt that I would best you all soundly, but I believe I will sit this out." She looked at the sky as the sun set, her worry for Styrm and the others evident on her face. Baithin was worried, too, but sitting around worrying would accomplish nothing, so he put on a smile.

Since they had never seen the game before, Baithin, Edge, and Ndai approached Aurelius to ask for a more detailed explanation of the rules and positions.

"In a full game, three people play offense," said Aurelius. "With one in the center, one in left field, and another in right field. Two are on defense in the rear, one for each side again, and lastly there's a goalie, whose only job is to hit away any balls that fly toward the goal."

"I want to play offense!" said Baithin, clenching his fist in front of his face with a grin. "Those were some amazing shots you made!"

Aurelius grinned back. "This isn't standard, but not much is standard about our team anyway, so… Ndai, why don't you try for the goalie position? Your reflexes are just what we're looking for! Most teams put their bulkiest players in goal, but you're fast. It could work."

Ndai shrugged. "I'll give it a try."

He pointed at Edge, who looked like he tried his hardest to hold back a comment. "Edge, you look like you'd make a good defensive player. It's all about tackling the other players and getting the ball from them before they can reach the goal."

"I have no issue with tackling Garleans," Edge said.

Aurelius beamed, the true meaning of Edge's words apparently going over his head. "Great! All of you look tough, but that could be because you're the only ones with weapons here - just, uh, don't bring them into the sphere pool. I've got a good feeling about you three."

After receiving a pair of goggles and aquabreathers, they entered the sphere pool with the other prospective Ghosts. Baithin swam around, getting used to the feeling of being able to breathe normally while completely submerged. As a child in Sharlayan, he spent many summers playing on the shores of the academic city, swimming on and through the waves that swept over him with much more force than any person could with a tackle. He had no doubts that he could do this.

Like the practice game, they started small with passes, swimming speeds, and basic shots toward the goal, interacting with the other prospective players while Aurelius swam around watching them, occasionally demonstrating when someone could have done better. Ndai turned out to be a fast swimmer, like Aurelius predicted, and blocked just about every shot aimed at her, outperforming many of the others. Baithin tried to mimic the same kind of kick Aurelius did earlier, but aimed it wrong and sent the ball flying out of the sphere pool – later, Aurelius complimented him on the power behind the shot.

At the end of the night, sore and soaking wet and just a little chilly, Baithin and the others sat on the benches outside of the sphere pool as it emptied into the bay. Baithin jiggled his foot as he waited with Edge and Ndai, leaning forward and looking at Aurelius as he discussed things with his teammates.

"I shouldn't have tried that last shot," said Baithin, biting his lip. "What if that ruined my chances?"

"Don't be ridiculous," said Granny, gripping his shoulder from behind him. "You were wonderful."

Edge grinned at him. "You were great, Baithin."

"Oh, look!" said Ndai. "They've made their decision!"

Baithin's head turned back to Aurelius and his team as they faced the crowd. The Garlean man put his hands on his hips as he looked over them all, beaming. "Well, I'd like to thank everyone for coming out tonight. I will make this brief, as it's getting rather late and I want to go home as much as the rest of you." There were a few nervous chuckles at this. "First picks – Stella on offense and Logos on defense."

A pair of Midlanders emerged from the crowd to a few polite claps, walking over to join the rest of the Ghosts as Aurelius' teammates welcomed them.

Baithin squatted on the bench, resisting the urge to bite his fingernails. "I wasn't picked. They're not going to pick me."

"Where's the cocky Baithin I know?" Edge asked him. "This is unlike you."

"For our goalie," Aurelius continued, "We've decided on Ndai. Come on over!"

Ndai pumped her fist into the air, beaming excitedly. "I made it!"

Baithin was too tense to congratulate her. This was not just about the airship pass anymore – he had much more fun than he thought he would playing blitzball. He even liked it more than Triple Triad, of which he was an avid player. He gripped Edge's broad shoulder in anticipation like a vice. Why couldn't they bring this sport to Eorzea?

Aurelius clapped Ndai on the back as she approached the team, and then turned to the rest of the crowd. "Lastly, I'd like to welcome another offense-defense duo to the Vector Ghosts. For the last two members of our team, Baithin and Edge!"

Edge whooped and Baithin's arms fell as he gaped, completely speechless.

"I knew you all could make it!" Granny cheered, as Edge swept Baithin up into a hug.

"Let's go join the team!" said Edge, pulling Baithin along with him through the crowd. He followed, almost numb, as the rest of the crowd already started to disperse. He barely heard Aurelius thanking them all again for coming, and only started to come to his senses again when the three Sea Wolf Vector Ghosts heartily clapped him on the shoulders.

"Welcome to the team!" they said.

Baithin beamed. "I'm glad to be here!"

"I feel good about our chances," said Aurelius. "We will make it to Garlemald – I know it!"

"Ha!" A loud, sharp laugh from the rim of the stadium alerted them to a trio of newcomers, all in uniforms of purple and black. "You trash, in Garlemald? I always thought your team was called the Vector Ghosts because you had a ghost of a chance at winning."

Aurelius glared. "What're you doing here, Noctis?"

"Captain of the Vector Behemoths," one of the Sea Wolves, Aiswyb, whispered. "Our rival team."

"We came to see what our good friends the Ghosts churned out this year," said the other Garlean man, Noctis. "You're planning on bringing a few Sea Pups to represent Vector in the capital, in the slim chance that you beat us? And what's that now, a little kit?"

Ndai stomped her foot. "You be quiet!"

"I'll not have you insult my team," Aurelius said, standing in front of them and crossing his arms. "I've chosen them on skill and skill alone."

"Try a comment like that again and I'll bash your face in," Edge said, nearly growling.

Noctis shrugged. "If you even think about trying that, I'll have you thrown in the dungeons, Ala Mhigan. Though I'm sure that's something you're used to."

Baithin and two of the other Ghosts had to hold him back at that. "Calm yourself!" said Aiswyb. "That man is the son of the leader of Vector, Governor Barthandelus!"

"Save it for the sphere pool," Aurelius said. His third eye almost looked like it was glinting. "We're done here for the night."

Noctis waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, fine." He turned to his own teammates. "Gladio, Prompto, come. We've clearly wasted our time coming here."

"Ooh, he's worse than Azionne," said Ndai, frowning and crossing her arms.

Granny approached them, placing a hand on Edge's shoulder. "Don't let them get to you, dear."

Edge averted his eyes. "I don't like people like that."

Baithin scratched his chin. "Do Sea Wolves and Miqo'te not play in Garlemald?"

"Never," said Aurelius. "We're the only team in the whole league that isn't made up of solely Garleans."

"Oh, chocobo dung," said Ndai, snapping her fingers. "So we're the underdog team, aren't we?"

"I meant what I said to them," said Aurelius. "Families and bloodlines don't matter to me. I pick my players based on skill, so that we can guide the team to victory together."

Edge looked at Aurelius, his anger visibly draining out of him. "I hate to admit it, but I misjudged you," he said. He held out his hand for the strange shaking gesture Aurelius gave them earlier that day, which only Granny knew how to reciprocate. "I'm sorry for that. Thank you for allowing us on the team."

Aurelius beamed and shook his hand. "We're glad to have you. All of you."

Baithin clenched his fist in front of his face. "We'll beat those sorry prats to the ground. To victory!"

The whole team cheered. "To victory!"

* * *

On board the  _Fahrenheit_ , Baithin was eager to get to sleep so he could rise early for practice with the Ghosts the next morning. As he retired to his cabin for the night with Edge, he saw Granny go to sit and wait for the others in the bridge instead.

"Are you still worried about them?" Baithin asked her.

Ndai poked her head out from across the hall. "Have more faith in your grandson," she said. "He protected me in Ala Mhigo, you know."

Granny smiled. "Of course I am worried. But you should all sleep. Your training begins tomorrow, and I do not want you falling behind in your combat training either."

Ndai made a face. "I'm not fond of combat training."

"Dance practice, then," Granny amended.

Edge grinned. "I won't fall behind on either."

The sound of footsteps on the deck above alerted them to a new arrival, and shortly after the hatch opened Gogo appeared, looking exhausted but otherwise fine. "Oh! Hi, everyone."

Baithin knelt down and ruffled his hair after he climbed down the ladder. "Welcome back! How'd it go?"

Styrmyrgan climbed down next, followed by Azionne right after. The hall started to get a little crowded, and Baithin noticed Granny move forward as if to hug her grandson, but she apparently decided against it.

"There was no Ascian," said Azionne, scowling. "Gogonegi had us ride a death trap of an airship for nothing."

Gogo puffed out his cheeks. "Not my fault."

Styrm looked directly at Edge. "Ser Edge… We did meet someone in Maluke Pass. A Garlean legatus by the name Nero tol Scaeva."

Edge almost pushed Baithin out of the way to reach Styrm. "Nero? But we fought him! And I thought the Warriors of Light killed him!"

"Obviously not," said Azionne. "You all should have been more thorough."

Edge scowled. "Says the one who did not even bother to show up for the attack."

"Now is not the time," said Granny, her voice rising above theirs. "Did Nero say anything to you?"

"Only that his destination was Garlemald," said Styrm. "He deserted, but he means to return."

"Why didn't you just capture him? Three on one sounds like good odds to me," said Edge. "He might have known things about Terra."

"I am not one to take prisoners," said Azionne. "Besides, he has not been in touch with his people in moons. He could not have known anything of value."

"Why don't you just trail him?" Ndai asked. "Figure out what he's after? Maybe he can even lead you right to Garlemald."

"I notice you're not volunteering for the job," said Azionne, crossing her arms.

"Well, of course not!" Ndai said, triumphantly putting her hands on her hips. "I've got to play blitzball to get us the airship pass straight there!"

Styrm's face lit up. "Oh! You made the team?"

Baithin beamed. "All three of us did! Say hello to the newest Vector Ghosts."

Azionne ran her fingers through her hair. "That's all well and good, I suppose. But you said it would take you weeks to get to Garlemald that way, correct? By then Terra may have accomplished all of her goals."

"It's not the fastest method," said Baithin, shrugging. "But it is safest and most reliable."

"And I do not intend to be idle while they play," said Granny. "Let us do all we can to study Terra, Celes, and the Lunatic Pandora."

"So we share the same sentiment," said Azionne. "While they play their ridiculous game, I think it would be better for us to leave Vector and make our way east on foot. Perhaps even infiltrate a castrum or two on the way," she added with a smirk.

Granny smiled and cleaned her glasses. "I like that idea."

"You won't get into Garlemald that way," said Edge. "Aurelius mentioned that the only way to enter is by airship."

"Then we will rendezvous at your team's last stop before the capital city, a few weeks from now," Azionne said.

"We will be unable to keep in touch," said Granny. "Since linkpearls do not work here. Styr, I'd like you to come with us."

Styrm drew back. "With just you and Lady Azionne?"

"Yes," said Granny. "Gogonegi, dear, you should stay where the airship is."

The Lalafell nodded. "Where is the blitzball league taking us? Where will we meet when they're ready for the final match of the tournament in Garlemald?"

Baithin went to the bridge, where the world map was. "The tournament's taking us all over Ilsabard. After Vector, it's northeast across the Nozarrian Wastelands to Nozarria, then south from there to Palamecia, and then further east to Bevelle before we reach Garlemald."

"So we'll meet up again in Bevelle!" said Ndai, clapping her hands together.

Edge frowned and looked at Granny. "Are you sure it's safe for the three of you to be on your own?"

"Don't waste your worry on me," said Granny. "I still remember my way around these lands."

"We'll make sure to win so we can meet you there," said Baithin, excitement welling up within him. He looked around the map at all of the others. "We're a team, all of us – not just Gullwings or Riskbreakers. We can do this."

"A good team needs a good name," said Ndai, grinning.

Edge put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. "The Warriors of Dawn."

"We are  _not_ copying the Warriors of Light," said Azionne. "You are all ridiculous. I'm going to bed."

"The Friendly Neighborhood Riskwings?" Ndai suggested, though even she didn't seem convinced by the name.

Granny lifted a finger to get their attention, smiling wide. "'Those Chosen by the Elementals'!"

Styrm frowned. "Gran, you haven't heard them in years. They have not chosen us."

"Too much of a mouthful," said Ndai. "The Forest Owls? Radical Dreamers? Clan Nutsy?"

"Those don't even make sense," Gogo pointed out quietly.

"I've got it," said Baithin, placing his hands down on the map. "The Eorzean Blitzers!"

They all responded at once. "No!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Still don't have any comments for the story! I'd like to thank the readers I have on Tumblr and friends from in game - there are few of you, but it's super appreciated!


	14. Interlude Primum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their victory at Ala Mhigo, Celes and Terra return to Garlemald.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for something a little different.

Celes always marveled at the beauty of Garlemald, especially as seen from above. Dark spires intertwined with a network of bridges spanning throughout the city, which as a whole looked like it was perched on a rocky plateau. Against the barren Nozarria Wastes, which covered most of Ilsabard, and the ink black night sky, it could have been difficult to see Garlemald with the naked eye. To combat that, the city was always lit up, even at night. It shone brighter than the stars, leading many citizens to call it Starlight City.

As much as she admired Garlemald for its Magiteknological innovation and beauty, Terra loved it even more. She stared out of the window of their airship, completely transfixed as they approached. There was hunger in her eyes, and Celes knew that as soon as they landed she would be headed straight to the Shinra Laboratory.

There were two main laboratories in Garlemald – Shinra and Draklor. The Shinra labs were devoted to researching energy and resources such as ceruleum, but Terra carried out her pet project Para-Magic creation there. Draklor Laboratory focused more on Magitek development. Midas nan Garlond, the father of Cid, was once head of Draklor until his death, upon which it went to Cid, who later defected. After that, the position went to Nero tol Scaeva. But with both of them gone, Terra had control of both laboratories. Celes thought she deserved it, and it was a long time coming – in her opinion, Terra had the brightest mind in all of the Empire.

The airship landed atop one of the spires in the Academia section of the city, in Shinra Lab's docking bay. After Celes and Terra walked off the airship, flanked by soldiers and engineers and with Generals Beatrix and Leo following silently behind them, Terra staggered once they were in Shinra's comparatively more private halls together. Celes caught her before she fell, slinging the other woman's arm around her shoulder to support her.

"I told you it was a rubbish idea to activate your Para-Magic," Celes said, her brow creased in worry. "We are still only in the testing phases."

"I let my pride get the better of me," Terra admitted, giving her a weak smile. "Though that is nothing new."

"At least magic has not warped your sense of humor."

Terra chuckled. "I simply need to recharge in the lab. Once we perfect this, I will be able to pull aether from my surroundings without any drawbacks."

Celes frowned. "I think you need to rest first." She glanced back to Beatrix and Leo. Terra had thought it would be amusing to use them as her sort of personal guard for the time being. "Beatrix. Leo. Have the prisoners been secured?"

"Yes," said Beatrix. Celes wished they could program the Slave Crowns to make them slightly more eloquent. She'd have to look into that later. As it was, their blank faces somewhat unnerved her. Like Para-Magic, the idea for the Slave Crown was originally Terra's, inspired by an eikon's tempering, but Celes was the one who created it.

"Then leave us," Celes commanded. "Go to Lab IX and find the researchers. They will give you your next instructions."

When they were alone, Terra squeezed Celes' shoulder. "I do not need rest, my love. Have the crystal shipments from Ala Mhigo been transported to Lab VI yet?"

Celes nodded. "Will you siphon their energy to recharge the materia?"

"Yes," said Terra. "That is my first option. If we are unable to do that yet, then I will just junction new materia to my body."

Celes frowned again. Judging by last time, junctioning was a painful process. If only the Eorzeans knew what their materia, normally used to augment weapons, could really do in the hands of a true genius.

Growing up, Celes and Terra had always been close. But even from a young age, Terra had thrown herself into her studies, taking advantage of all the privileges that Garlean nobility afforded them. It was never just Magitek development and military strategies and history, as was expected of her – Terra dived right into arcane studies and ancient legends, superstitions of savages in foreign lands. She had been most fascinated by Eorzean gods and eikons, beings that existed as long as the planet did.

It was only in recent months that her research led her to the Ascians. After the death of Gaius in Eorzea, the Ascians Emmerololth and Deudalaphon came to her. Their plan entailed using the Lunatic Pandora to spread Eorzea's vast quantities of aether to Ilsabard and the rest of the world. Terra's plan was to develop Para-Magic so the Garleans could utilize it.

Celes knew not to trust the beings, which she suspected existed in the rift between worlds. The details of their dealings with Gaius were unknown, but they allowed him to fall to Eorzea's so-called Warriors of Light, even with the ancient Allagan superweapon Ultima under their control. Celes would not allow Terra to be manipulated by them, though she did not think Terra truly needed her protection.

"Is the Lunatic Pandora still in the hands of Deudalaphon?" Celes asked, stopping. "I am not sure if I like that."

Terra pressed her hand against the door panel they stopped in front of, which slid open with a gentle hiss. It was quiet here – all of the scientists of Lab VI had gone for the day. "Worry not. For now, the Ascians need us as much as we need them. They will not run off with the Lunatic Pandora."

"For now," Celes repeated. Her eyes passed over the round materia stones arranged on the shelf, next to a crate of crystals. The light within them did not shine as brightly as they did in Eorzea. "I am concerned with what will happen after."

Terra brushed her fingers against Celes' face. "It is not fully known by anyone except the Warriors of Light what happened between Gaius and Lahabrea within Castrum Meridianum. Regardless, I do not intend to let them play me. It is my hope that in the coming weeks, the Ascians will be too preoccupied with the Warriors of Light to betray us."

"The Warriors of Light? They are being hunted down in their own lands." Celes grasped Terra's hands, enjoying the warmth. "They cannot do anything. They will bother neither the Empire nor the Ascians any longer."

Terra turned away from her, dancing her fingers across the materia. "Perhaps not the Empire, but Emmerololth let slip to me of a plot within Ishgard. It seems that even among the Ascians, they all have their own missions and desires. They have already learned that the Warriors of Light seek sanctuary behind the gates of the Holy See."

Celes' brow rose. "Ishgard? So it will have little to do with us. Emperor Varis does not intend to set his sights there until the rest of Eorzea has fallen." Celes knew for a fact that he did not want to get involved in the war between Ishgard and the Dravanians – at least, not yet.

"Yes," said Terra, glancing back at her. "This time, when they inevitably clash, the Warriors of Light will fight in our favor. And with the Warriors of Light and the Warriors of Darkness continuing their war, we will be free to do as we please."

Celes straightened. "The Warriors of Darkness? Is that what the Ascians truly are?" All through their childhood, Terra had read legends of the ongoing war through the eras between the Warriors of Light and Darkness, appearing whenever the world was thrown out of balance. If that time had come again…

"I believe so."

 _Though most of Garlemald doesn't even believe in the Warriors of Light, much less Darkness_ , she thought.  _I only do because Terra does_.

Celes stepped next to Terra, picking up a piece of materia and rolling it in her palm. "I want to junction materia to myself," she said, staring into Terra's eyes. "I do not want you to bear this burden alone."

Terra cupped Celes' chin in her hand, smiling tenderly. "My love," she said. "Para-Magic is no burden. It is the greatest feeling in the world."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Short chapter this time. I did not plan for it, but as I was writing this Terra and Celes started becoming magical science lesbians.
> 
> Please review!


	15. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a month of traveling Ilsabard for the blitzball tournament, Edge and the others reunite with Styrm, Granny, and Azionne in Bevelle for the quarter finals, so they can all infiltrate Garlemald together.

They had seven days of blitzball practice until their first game in Vector.

Edge enjoyed blitzball, but he couldn't claim to love it as much as Baithin did. He dominated every practice match, throwing everything into them with more zeal than he did his red magic or archery, even writing less than he used to. Edge wished he could focus on the game as much as Baithin, but he felt guilty having fun with it while Ashe and the other Riskbreakers were likely fighting for their lives every day back in Eorzea. He had no idea where they lived, how safe they were, or if the other city-states fought back against the Garlean occupation.

Even thoughts of Ala Mhigo and the Resistance continued to plague him.

"Brooding again?" Ndai nudged him in the hip with her elbow as they walked to the Sector 2 blitzball stadium, where they were to play their first match against a team from the city of Palamecia. The stadium technically belonged to the Vector Behemoths, but they were allowed to play in the much nicer stadium just this once, probably for the benefit of the visiting team.

He gave Ndai a smile. Over the past few days, she had grown on him. She was fun to talk to and her smiles came easy, even if some of her laughter was at his or someone else's expense. He did notice, though, that her smiles did not always reach her eyes – and that was when he realized she was just as upset as he was about Ala Mhigo, but she hid it better. Ndai had become close to Amalia in their short time together. "No," he said. "Just thinking."

Baithin, ever the bundle of energy, gave Edge a couple of light punches in the arm as he practically hopped around them. "You should only be thinking about the game right now! We have to win and meet the others in Bevelle."

He envied Baithin and his ability to push aside thoughts of the war, the Ascians, and mysteries like the Dusk Shard he received from Amalia and the Lunatic Pandora. "Right!" said Edge, trying to give him a convincing smile. "We've been training hard. Let's show the Empire what Eorzeans in blitzball can do!"

Gogo trailed behind them. "I'll be cheering for you!"

"I just wish Granny was here to watch," said Ndai, folding her hands behind her as she walked. "And Styrm, too. He'd like the game, even if he can't swim."

Baithin turned to Gogo. "Every time I score a goal, I'll face you in the stands and I'll… do this!" He held up both fists. "That way you'll know it was for you, okay?"

Ndai pushed him playfully. "Try scoring one first. For all you know, you could be benched for one of the halves."

Baithin looked horrified. "Aurelius would never!"

* * *

As it turned out, Ndai was benched for the first half, while Aurelius himself took her place in the goal. Edge swam in place, enjoying the silence inside of the sphere pool rather than the roaring crowd outside. Most of the spectators were from Palamecia, here to cheer on their favorite team. A few Vector Ghosts fans were out in the stands, but most of them were ridiculed by the rest of Vector and turned back to the Sector 10 slums.

Edge tugged at his uncomfortable skintight black and yellow uniform, then spotted another player in black and silver coming at him, ball in hand. He slammed into the Garlean, wrestling him for the ball and succeeding in knocking it out of his hands. Edge dived for the fumble, hurling it one of the forwards, who passed it to Baithin, who passed it to one of the other new players, Stella, who managed to score their first goal of the game.

When the Palamecians were in possession of the ball, they managed to evade Edge and the other defender and score a goal against Aurelius. Shortly after that, the first half ended. After halftime, Edge was benched, but Ndai was put back into the game – which was a good choice. She managed to swat away two shots aimed at her goal, to the surprised murmuring of the spectators around Edge.

A huge uproar resounded throughout the stadium when Aurelius managed to score their second and final goal with just ten seconds to spare at the end of the game. Edge leapt out of his seat, cheering as loud as he could.

"Looks like the underdog Vector Ghosts surprised us all, folks!" the announcer blared. "Even I never thought that a team with such a dismal background could actually win! Against all odds, they're headed to Nozarria for the next game in the Galvus Cup!"

Edge almost sent a rude gesture in the announcer's general direction but decided against it, going to meet his team as they exited the sphere pool.

Aiswyb and the other Sea Wolves hoisted an exhausted Aurelius up into the air as everyone cheered and Edge clapped him on the back. "To Denzel & Marlene's tonight!" Aurelius shouted above the clamor, grinning ear to ear. "Drinks on me!"

* * *

The tiny, shabby pub sat in a little corner of Sector 10, and while the team often went there after practice, Edge had never seen it so full of life. It felt like all of their fans in the slums came out to celebrate with them, even if they couldn't come to the game. Baithin played his harp, singing a ballad that he drunkenly composed on the spot as a retelling of the game. Ndai danced on a table to an adoring crowd, and Gogo cautiously sipped at a Garlean drink Edge had never heard of.

Edge sat with Gogo on the fringes of the party, since he had a feeling he'd lose his little Lalafellin friend if he took his eyes off the boy. "I never thought it was possible," Edge said. "But these people celebrate harder than the Riskbreakers do."

"And thish is only the firsht game," said Gogo, blinking rapidly. "Woooo!"

Edge peered at him. "Gogo, how much have you had to drink?"

"Thish is my first, Edgy," he said, leaning his head against Edge's arm. "You're so warm…"

Edge took the drink from Gogo's hands and inspected it more closely. It looked like he had barely touched it. Gogo tried to snatch it back from him, jumping on his lap in an attempt to reach it, but almost fell. Edge held him at arm's length, took a sip, and almost blanched. "Gogo! This is a strong drink!"

"Yes! It will make me strong!"

"No, no, it doesn't work that way. I think you've had enough," he said. "Let's get you back to the ship." He hoisted Gogo over his shoulder, but before he could go out the door, Aurelius called out to him.

"Wait! Leaving already?" The blitzball captain edged around the crowd of people to meet them at the door.

"We are," said Edge. He gestured to Gogo, who happily enjoyed his new vantage point from Edge's shoulder. "I have to get him back to our ship."

"You can't leave so soon! One more drink, at least. I want to get to know all of you, as your teammate," Aurelius said. "It's as if you're all closed off."

Edge went outside, looking forward to a breath of fresh air, but he only got a lungful of the foul-smelling ceruleum smog, which smelled like a mix between raw sewage and the charge in the air after someone cast magic. "What do you want to know?"

Aurelius shrugged. "I don't know. What brings a bunch of Eorzean travelers to the Empire?"

Edge wished he could see the stars, but the smog cast the night sky in a dull blue color. "Just adventure," he said after a moment. He liked Aurelius by now, at least for a Garlean, but not enough to trust him with their true purpose. He didn't know if he wanted to get him involved in all of this anyway. "Right now, we all want to see Garlemald. I don't know if we'll stay with the team after that."  _If we even survive that long_ , he thought.  _Who knows what could happen before then? And what comes after?_  It had just occurred to him that they didn't know what they'd do in the slim chance they managed to get the Lunatic Pandora back from Terra and Celes.

Aurelius looked forlorn at that. "I truly enjoy playing with all of you," he said. "But I'd respect your wishes."

Edge smiled. "Thank you. I really enjoy playing blitzball as well."

"Will you all be flying separately to Nozarria? As a team, we should all be together!" Aurelius said. "I have my own airship that we can all use. There's plenty of room."

Gogo perked up at that. Edge thought he had already passed out by that point. "No! We're not leaving my airship behind! My airship! The Gullwings would kill me!"

Aurelius furrowed his brow. "The what-wings?"

"Nothing," said Edge, putting a hand over the engineer's mouth so he wouldn't spill anything else. "We'll fly alongside you."

"Right, then," said Aurelius. He grinned and held up his glass to them. "To victory."

Edge grinned back. "To victory."  _We'll surely need it._

* * *

Bevelle was a completely different city from Nozarria and Palamecia, as Edge saw when the  _Fahrenheit_  bypassed the aerial checkpoint above the city and landed.

Nozarria and Palamecia still had hints of their former cultures peeking through the Garlean influence. Bevelle, however, was a Garlean city through and through. Metal towers speared the sky, emblazoned with a Garlean sigil and colored crimson and gold. Smaller airships than Edge had ever seen wove through the towers, nearly colliding with others in the sky but somehow always avoiding each other. The streets were wide and colorful, with lamps lit by Magitek. Even the stairs, leading to different levels of the city, moved by some unseen force.

"Wow…" said Gogo, eyes wide. He looked like he was about to run all over the airship bay, which looked over the whole city from up high.

"Say what you will, but the Garleans sure know how to design their cities," said Ndai, standing at the viewing platform.

"Giving all of Bevelle's visitors this kind of view of the city is more a display of their power and majesty, if anything," said Baithin. "At least we can see the Bevelle Woods from here."

"The only green we've seen in the Nozarria Waste," Edge said. The woods completely surrounded the city on all sides, which was strangely comforting after nothing but barren, grey wastelands for the past few weeks. Aurelius had told them the Garleans drained the land of all life years ago, in their hunger for Ilsabard's scarce ceruleum. He felt like he hadn't seen grass since the Vector Plains.

Ndai spun around. "Okay! Let's go reunite with the others!"

Baithin nodded and grinned. "I really miss them!"

Edge scratched his head. "What was the name of that place Aurelius told us all about?"

"Yevon Cathedral," said Baithin. "That's where we decided we'd meet them before we separated."

Once the Ghosts' ship was cleared for landing, it docked right next to the  _Fahrenheit_. Aurelius' personal airship dwarfed theirs in size, with a full Magitek engine and no balloon. Painted mostly white and yellow, it almost resembled a dragon. Aurelius and the rest of the team disembarked and he came to join them.

"Hi, everyone," he said. "How was your flight?"

"Not terrible," Baithin answered. "With so many ships in the sky, and soldiers constantly patrolling, I was afraid we'd be stopped more than once."

"What's to fear?" Aurelius asked. "We've got passes, so there's nothing to hide." Edge and the others shuffled uncomfortably at that – they still had not told him their true purpose in Ilsabard. "Anyway, we are meeting your friends in the Yevon Cathedral, correct?"

"Yes!" said Ndai, clapping her hands together. "I hope they made it!"

"I'll bring you there myself," said Aurelius, grinning. "It'll be a good opportunity to pray to Yevon for victory in the tournament."

The streets outside were crowded with people. By this point in the tournament, approaching the semifinals, people from all over the Empire were crowding to the cities to watch the final games before they proceeded to Garlemald. Edge felt somewhat cramped and out of place – the enormous towers all around them made him feel like he was trapped. He couldn't even see the airship bay anymore, which felt like one of the tallest structures in the city.

"Do you know this city well, Aurelius?" Baithin asked him as they walked. The city was neatly laid out in a grid system, so Edge was at least comforted by the fact that it would be difficult to get lost.

"I was born here," the blitzball captain said, looking up at the towers around them. "House Doram, though small, has lived here for generations."

"Oh! Will your family come out to watch our games?" Ndai asked.

Aurelius scratched the back of his head. "I don't have family here anymore. "After I went to Vector, they were all arrested and executed as traitors."

Ndai flicked her tail. "Oh! I'm sorry." Edge thought that came out rather easily, but he supposed Aurelius was like Baithin in that he didn't like to dwell on things.

He offered them a sad smile. "It's all right, it's something that happens a lot here. They loved to go pray at the cathedral, so I'll say something for them, too."

Gogo walked up next to Aurelius. "I thought the Empire didn't follow any religions?"

"The Church of Yevon isn't originally Garlean," Aurelius answered. "It belonged to the subjugated people of the Empire, but some believe that parts of it came from Othard. It managed to catch on here, so more and more Garleans are picking it up. Anyway, they say that Yevon, the god, was once a Hyuran saint who bore the sins of all his people, which took the form of a monster that he rides as his steed, collecting all of the evils of the land and turning us pure."

"I've never heard of it, even in Nozarria or Palamecia," said Edge. "But there's only one god? Eorzea's Twelve must be stronger!"

"I don't think that's how it works, Edge," said Baithin, chuckling into his fist.

Edge shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not particularly religious."

"You haven't heard of it because it isn't very popular," said Aurelius. "The only cathedral on Ilsabard is in this city. But they've gained a lot of followers in recent years, mostly thanks to Archduke Mateus announcing his belief in Yevon. He's the leader of Bevelle."

Aurelius rounded another corner that felt like it was closer to the outskirts of the city, and they spotted the cathedral nestled between two towers that made the stone cathedral look small. Despite that, Yevon Cathedral's own spires twisted into the air, its high arched roof reflecting the sunlight from the gold-tipped peaks. A statue of a robed Hyuran man stood in front of the cathedral, his arms outstretched as if in welcome.

"Wow, it's pretty," said Ndai.

Aurelius brought his hands together in a circle shape and bowed, a motion Edge had seen him do before but previously didn't understand. "Praise be to Yevon. Here it is! I'm going inside to pray. Come find me before you return to the others, got it?" He walked up the cathedral steps, disappearing inside the enormous structure.

Edge looked around, hoping two Roegadyn and an Elezen would be easy to find in a sea of silver-haired Garleans. "They said they'd be here every afternoon for these few days, right?"

"Yes," said Baithin, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Oh! On the street corner!"

"It's Styrm!" Ndai exclaimed, running over to him. Edge, Baithin, and Gogo eagerly followed, and all four of them nearly jumped on him when they were close enough.

"Oh, Ndai! Oof!" Styrm exclaimed, not noticing them until they were all on him. "Ser Edge! Ser Baithin! Master Gogo!"

Ndai gave him a light punch in his armored shoulder. "Good to see you! And what gives? No 'Lady Ndai' after all this?"

"Hey, big guy!" said Edge, clapping him on the back. Styrm's pale face flushed under all the attention. Edge always thought his red tattoos under his eyes looked like teardrops, but somehow they seemed fierce now. His armor, which Edge only saw him out of when he slept, was covered in scratches and small dents, but somehow he seemed more comfortable in it. "You look like a proper adventurer now."

"O-oh! Is that so?" Styrm asked, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Where are Granny and Azionne?" Baithin asked.

"Gran's inside the cathedral," he said. "Lady Azionne went to walk around Bevelle, but she should be back momentarily. We only just arrived today."

"Great!" said Baithin. "I want to hear everything you've been up to!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Short chapter today! Mostly transition stuff.
> 
> For the record, the other Sea Wolf teammates on the Vector Ghosts are named Aiswyb (Ice Woman, so far the only one named in story), Doenbrem (Thunder Bramble), and Iyrningil (Iron Angel). It's just a lot of complicated names to remember in story so I've just been trying not to refer to them much, but I feel bad just saying "the Sea Wolves". And yes, Stella is a FFXV reference (why does she play blitzball? The world may never know. Noctis, Gladio, and Prompto are on the Vector Ghosts' rival team, so…) while Logos (the other new team member who got recruited with Stella) is a reference to the X-2 character. I just want to incorporate as many FF characters with Latin/Greek names as possible because they're lore appropriate (or, well, the Latin is. Recent lore info has revealed Sharlayans may have Greek names, so maybe Logos is Sharlayan!)! Maybe I'll add XV's Luna at some point, too. But the point of this is that none of the Vector Ghosts are particularly important or relevant except Aurelius. I just like name-dropping references, which I'm sure you've figured out by now.
> 
> Additionally, I've decided to make Ilsabard based on Europe. Nozarria is a mix between Venetian Italian/Spanish/some light French influences, while Palamecia is totally Victorian gothic steampunk England. Bevelle is more or less like the city in FFX, which is also the only one I'll actually showcase a bit in this fic.
> 
> Also, I decided I want Baithin to be a Hyur for this story as well. I Fantasia'd him in game recently so I'm going to go back and change any references to his race from before this.
> 
> BUT YES SO MUCH FINAL FANTASY X HAS HAPPENED IN THE MOST RECENT CHAPTERS, LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT.


	16. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After reuniting and catching up after a month apart, the Vector Ghosts are invited to a ball thrown by Archduke Mateus in celebration of the blitzball tournament.

**Hydaelyn's Wing**

**Part 1: The Heart of the Empire**

**Chapter 14**

Styrm wondered if he should have been apologizing to the Twelve as he walked into the cathedral, passing by scores of devout worshipers prostrating themselves before numerous altars. He loved and respected the gods, but he didn't know what to say in prayer – except to ask Halone, his patron deity, for strength.

Halone always intimidated him, though. His parents chose a sign that he could never measure up to.

Granny stood by a statue of a strange, powerful creature that made Styrm think of an adamantoise with longer, thicker legs, no neck or face, and a spiked carapace instead of a shell. As soon as the others saw his grandmother, they all rushed forward to hug her, too, but with considerably less force.

"Oh! You're all here!" Granny exclaimed, hugging each one of them in turn. "How wonderful!"

"What're you doing in this musty old place?" Ndai asked.

Granny shrugged. "Oh, I thought I'd look around and learn while I waited for all of you. The Church of Yevon was nowhere near as large back in my day. Yevonites were a rare sight back then, you know, but I managed to bed one once nonetheless."

Styrm covered his face, which he felt reddening. "Gran!"

Other worshipers sent her disapproving glares, which Granny ignored. "I was just learning about this interesting statue," she said, gesturing to the monstrosity next to them. "They call it Sin."

"Yevon's unholy steed, and our savior," said a robed man, walking up to them. "You are disturbing us in our hour of worship, so I will have to ask you to leave now."

Granny frowned. "You lot are stuffier than the Hearers of Stillgade Fane," she muttered. "Come, everyone. It seems we have overstayed our welcome."

The priest solemnly crossed his arms as they left, but another Garlean jogged up with a grin. "Sorry," he said to the priest. "They're with me."

Granny immediately hooked her arm into the new arrival's own. "Oh, hello handsome. Your name is Aurelius, correct? Remember me?"

The other man, Aurelius, laughed. "I do!"

Outside, they found Azionne standing near the statue of Yevon, a sour look on her face as always. Ndai, Baithin, Edge, and Gogo did not make a move to hug her, and she didn't bother with a greeting.

"Good, you have arrived at Bevelle on time," she said. "We have matters to discuss between the seven of us."

"Oh, good to see you too, Azi," said Ndai.

"I'll leave all of you here, then," said Aurelius, nodding to them. "Let's try to cram in some blitz practice before the game tomorrow!"

Baithin made a fist. "We'll come to the stadium soon!"

"Aurelius!" A Roegadyn woman ran up to them, waving her arms to get their attention. Everyone, passerby included, turned to her. The Garleans turning away from her and muttering under their breaths did not escape Styrm's attention.

"Aiswyb!" said Aurelius. "What's wrong?"

The woman held out a sealed envelope to him. "I'm glad you're still here. A messenger dropped this off at our airship. I believe it's an invitation."

"An invitation?" Edge asked. "To what?"

Aurelius opened the letter, scanning over it quickly with wide eyes. "Archduke Mateus is having a ball tonight at his palace," he said, eyes wide. "To commemorate the quarter finals of the Galvus Cup. All blitz teams still in the tournament are invited, as are most of the noble houses!"

Ndai's eyes lit up. "A ball?"

"That's really short notice," said Baithin. "But it sounds fun!"

Azionne scowled. "You have much better things to do than cavort with the mindless upper echelons of Garlean society."

"Oh, no, I think that sounds like a lovely idea," said Granny, tapping her chin. "Could one of you young men take me as your date?" She glanced significantly at Aurelius, who laughed and caught on.

"I don't see why not!"

Azionne rolled her eyes. "Have any of you peons even been to a ball before? A proper one? You'll all make fools of yourselves. You do not even have the clothes for it."

Ndai raised her hand. "But I can dance."

Aurelius peered at the letter. "It says right here that Mateus is sending his own personal tailors to each team to get them all dressed up for it. Seems he's a big blitzball fan."

"And it's a good thing we have a genuine, high class Ishgardian noblewoman to show us how to 'cavort with the mindless upper echelons of society,' as you put it," said Granny, smiling. "And I do believe this is our best opportunity yet."

Styrm still did not know how Granny discovered her uncanny ability to play Azionne like a fiddle, as she did for the past moon or so. Azionne looked away for a moment, thinking, and then nodded. "Very well. You will need me to keep you from humiliating yourselves."

Edge crossed his arms. "Let's go back to the  _Fahrenheit_  and discuss this there."

* * *

 

The inside of the  _Fahrenheit_  bustled with activity as they hurried to pick out clothes from the team of tailors the Archduke sent, who seemed like they carried a full wardrobe. They struggled to find a suit that would fit Styrm's considerable bulk, but eventually after a whole candle of poking and prodding they managed to fix something for him.

"How did I get pulled into this?" Styrm wondered aloud, feeling oddly more stiff in the black jacket and slacks than he ever did in his armor. The tailors rushed out as quickly as they came, leaving the boys alone in their cabin together.

Baithin wore a matching suit, though his had a higher collar and he pinned a rose to his lapel. "You heard Granny. It's a great opportunity – we can learn all kinds of things that could be advantageous to us."

Edge tugged at his ruffled ascot. "I'm willing to bet that military types will be there, so perhaps if we're lucky we can find out about Terra and Celes, or how things are going back at home. Maybe we could even learn about their plans for Eorzea."

"I don't see why the rest of us have to go," Gogo whined. "They had to find me children's clothing…"

"I think it'd be better for us to stick together," said Baithin.

Gogo rubbed his index fingers together. "What if Terra or Celes are there?"

"Then Beatrix or Leo could be there, too," said Edge. "And we could rescue them!"

"I do not believe they would be." Styrm played with his collar. "We did not get the chance to tell you yet, but the three of us learned that Terra and Celes are still in Garlemald. They have not made any public appearances since the parade in Ala Mhigo."

Edge stepped forward. "What else did you find out?"

"It would be a good time to discuss that now, before we go to the ball," said Azionne, appearing in the doorway of their cabin with a long black gown trailing behind her, though it cut all the way up to her thigh. Her sleeveless dress, cut low on her chest, had a high collar and black feathers on her shoulders, while her hair was pinned up with an elaborate golden headpiece. Her hands, covered in black gloves that reached past her elbows, held onto her magic staff. "In company we can trust."

Baithin whistled. "Wow, Azi, that's a nice dress."

She actually smiled at him. "Thank you. I trust that for the purposes of my attendance one of you will be my date?"

"I'll take that risk, I suppose," said Baithin, though he grinned.

"Continue to show cheek and it will be a much greater risk than you imagined," she threatened, but it lacked her usual force. Styrm even thought he saw the corners of her mouth twitching.

After Azionne walked into their cabin, Ndai appeared in the doorway, fanning herself. Her pale yellow dress was much less elaborate, though it was sleeveless as well and bared her back, with a ribbon tied in a bow at her shoulder. It reached to her knees, and somehow made Styrm think of a mushroom. "Oh, you all look good!" she said, grinning. She crouched down to Gogo's height. "I'll take Gogo as my date tonight! You look so cute!"

The Lalafell gulped. "M-me?"

Edge elbowed Styrm. "Guess that leaves me and you as dates, big guy," he said, chuckling.

"Ser Edge! But you are to be wed to Grand Steward Ashelia!" he exclaimed, waving his arms.

"Relax," he said. "None of this is serious!"

"Now that that's all settled, I'd like to discuss what the three of us have learned while you played your games," said Granny, standing in the doorway. "Azionne is right – now is the best time." Her own dress was deep green, falling to her ankles. An emerald gemstone at her throat clasped a shawl that fell down her back. She, too, held her staff.

"Why are all three of you armed?" Baithin asked, indicating both staves and Ndai's fans.

"A safety precaution," said Granny. "One time, many years ago, I was at a grand feast in Thavnair. It was supposed to be peaceful, but an enemy tribe assaulted us as we ate…"

Azionne cut her off. Styrm thought that was wise – his grandmother had a tendency to get involved in her stories. "It is not wise to be anywhere on this continent without our weapons, I would think. I would suggest you bring your weapons along as well. Baithin, they are like to think your needle is a useless ceremonial weapon, which certainly looks the part."

Baithin glared at her with an upturned nose. "I'll have you know that this is a Nozarrian dueling rapier, and a treasured weapon of Red Mages!"

"Our party will be the only one with any people who are capable of using magic," Azionne said. "I am certain they will view it as just a decoration."

"I was going to bring my item pack anyway," said Gogonegi, tucking his gun into it and slinging it onto his back. "Ohh… I hope we don't have to use them…"

Edge clenched his fist, smirking. "I don't need a weapon! Mine are right here!"

Styrm glanced at his sword and shield leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. His armor rested next to it. The thought of being in a fight without his armor terrified him. "What about me?" he asked. "It would be difficult to argue that my blade is ceremonial."

"Bring your sword," Granny said. "Do not go anywhere without it, as I've told you." Styrm fastened it to his belt, thinking it would be a nice excuse to leave if he was turned away for being armed.

"So, tell us!" said Ndai. "I'm tired of waiting. What have you three been doing this past moon?"

"Traveling around the continent, as you have," said Granny. "Though on foot, or Garlean machina. We saw Castrum Cometas, outside of Vector, and Castrum Astralitas, near the ruins of Bozja Citadel."

"Did you raid them?" Edge asked.

Styrm shook his head. "They were both heavily fortified. However, we did manage to destroy a ceruleum processing plant near Bozja."

"Bozja?" Ndai asked. "What's that?"

"That's where Cid nan Garlond studied!" Gogo exclaimed.

Baithin's eyes widened. "You destroyed it all by yourselves?"

"No," Azionne said. "We had met a resistance group shortly before that. They called themselves the Returners."

"Rebels? Here?" Edge asked, stunned. "What're we doing? Let's go find them!"

Granny wagged her finger at him. "They are far more secretive than the Ala Mhigan Resistance or the Riskbreakers. We only met one small cell."

Styrm didn't know what to think of the Returners – they had been fighting the Empire for decades, and it showed in the way they did things. They called all of the bleak grey wastelands around Ilsabard their home. "We had to leave them to meet up with all of you again," Styrm said. "They did not seem to like that."

"They thought it was too risky for us to go into Bevelle," said Granny. "But they helped us for a while, and fed us, even if they did not fully trust us. We owe them."

"Furthermore," said Azionne. "When we destroyed that processing plant, troops from nearby Castrum Astralitas came to eliminate us. Beatrix and Leo led them."

Ndai stepped forward. "Did you get the Slave Crowns off them? You didn't find out about what happened to Amalia, did you?"

"No, and no," Granny said sadly.

"General Beatrix and General Leo did not seem to recognize us," said Styrm. "Their swordsmanship was greater than ever, so we were forced to flee after that." The Ala Mhigan generals made fearsome allies and terrible foes. They had cut down several of the Returners, and Styrm thought it was a miracle that they had managed to escape. He had even had a few nightmares after that day, merging together with the nightmares he already had from the parade.

Baithin rubbed his chin. "Were Terra and Celes with them?"

Granny shook her head. "They were not."

"So what were they doing separated from Terra, who has been in Garlemald all this time?"

All seven of them were silent after that, until Edge punched his palm. "No use worrying about all of that now," he said. "It's getting late. Let's get to that ball and dance!"

* * *

 

Out of all of the buildings in Bevelle, the palace of Archduke Mateus was grandest of them all. High towers, arched windows, and elaborate pillars made it stand out enough, but Styrm was distracted by the perfectly trimmed shrubbery outside, twisting into shapes that he didn't know plants could grow.

Glass doors opened wide, inviting the Riskbreakers, Gullwings, and Vector Ghosts into the warmth of the enormous dance hall. A diamond chandelier, high above them, cast a soft golden light over the ballroom floor, covered with men and women who danced to music being played on a stage at the far end of the hall.

They walked up the marble steps to the palace together, attracting the stares of a multitude of Garleans. Aurelius just smiled at whoever gave them disapproving glares.

"We're the only non-Garleans here," Ndai whispered.

"As expected," said Baithin. "Just take it in stride."

A trio of Garlean men swaggered into their path, blocking the entrance to the ballroom. "What a surprise! The Ghosts made it all this way!"

"Noctis," Aurelius said, greeting him with a curt nod. "Glad to hear that our fellow Vector team made it to the quarter finals."

"I suppose your team of Sea Wolf brutes isn't all that bad," said Noctis. His gaze fell over Styrm and Granny. "And you picked up two more! Though one of them looks shriveled and tinier than the rest."

Granny waved her hand, scoffing. "Oh, my grandson looks much more impressive in his armor." Styrm gave his grandmother a blank stare.

Noctis furrowed his brow at her. "I wasn't talking about him."

Edge flexed his hands. "You want a brute? I can show you a brute."

Ndai slid in front of him before Noctis could respond. "Oh, Noctis! Would you like this dance? I'd just  _love_ the opportunity to dance with one of you big, strong Vector Behemoths!" She held out her hand to him. "Maybe if I'm lucky some of your talent could rub off on me."

Noctis laughed and took it. "I'm glad one of you Ghosts has the good sense to recognize the better blitz players."

As he led her off to the dance floor, Styrm frowned. "Shouldn't we keep an eye on her?"

"Oh, no," said Granny. "I expect she'll be fine."

After they went in, Styrm glanced over to Ndai and Noctis, who waltzed to the music together. As he watched, he saw Ndai step on Noctis' feet multiple times, direct him to collide with other dancers, and smile sheepishly whenever he reprimanded her, only for her to do the same thing again. Eventually, his face became so red with anger and embarrassment that he stormed off, leaving Ndai to skip happily back to them.

"Who else wants to dance?" she asked, cheery.

"I'd love to see what I can remember," said Granny, going off into the crowd with her. "If we're separated, let's all meet at the entrance."

Two of Baithin and Edge's teammates took them off for a dance while Gogo and Aurelius wandered off to the banquet table, the former winding his way through the long legs of the people around him. That left Azionne and Styrm, who glanced at each other.

"Have you ever danced before?" she asked him.

He felt heat rising in his face. "I've never tried. Have you?"

"Oftentimes I felt it was all I was trained to do as a child of an Ishgardian noble house," she said, staring at the chandelier. "I never had a talent for it."

"Oh," he said, not knowing what else to say.

"But I am in a good mood tonight. Let's go."

He stumbled as she led him by the hand to the dance floor. Right when they stopped and she pulled his hand to her hip, the music halted and a Garlean man with an elaborate headdress and long robes appeared on the stage. He raised his hands up high.

"Praise be to Yevon for this joyous occasion! Praise be to Emperor Varis!" The man lowered his hands into the circular shape that Styrm recognized as a prayer. "It is my great pleasure to host this grand ball for our most celebrated blitzball players from Vector, Garlemald, and our very own Bevelle."

"Archduke Mateus," Azionne surmised. "A pious man, it seems."

Styrm realized that Mateus did not, in fact, wear a headdress – his hair was styled into two long shapes that resembled horns. "It would be an honor to meet each team personally," Mateus continued. "I will join you all for the festivities now – and may Yevon grant you all the strength and vigor to play your best in the Galvus Cup." Two Midlander women strode up onto the stage next to him, both in flared, ruffled skirts and loose hair, one with brown and the other blonde. "And now I present Nozarria's two greatest songstresses – Lenne and Maria!"

The crowd responded in applause and the music resumed. The songstresses' voices joined the violins and piano, and Azionne led Styrm in dance.

He kept his gaze low, trying his hardest not to step on her, but she was surprisingly easy to dance with. She kept it to a simple waltz, dancing along with the crowd, and he caught her staring off into space, as if she wasn't fully there with him.

He used to think she was a foul woman, scathing and vicious, but after their time together without the others he found his opinion changing. She could be warm sometimes, he noticed, and was as dedicated as any of them to fighting the Garleans, even if she claimed she was only in it for the Ascians. Azionne had also been more approving of his battle skills since the day in Maluke Pass, as well.

"Ser Edge was correct," Styrm said, looking around. "There are quite a lot of military types here." While many attendees were dressed in suits or dresses, several others wore the formal white and gold Garlean military jackets. Many had swords or guns sheathed at their belts, so they did not look twice at Styrm's own sheathed blade.

"High-ranking officers," Azionne said, twirling under his arm. She led the dance in a firmer hand as she made it somewhat more complicated, but he managed to keep up. "You are not as bad as I expected you to be."

"I assure you, I am focusing all of my attention on this," he said.

"You're a good follower," she said. "That is all it takes."

He wasn't sure if she meant it as a compliment or an insult. "Thank you."

Azionne whirled, her hands dancing in his own. He found himself distracted by the low cut of her dress. "You wanted to be a soldier, correct?"

"For the Twin Adders," he said, lowering his voice. "Like my mother and father."

"How... quaint," she said. "And then you found yourself in the Riskbreakers, following your grandmother instead."

His face reddened again. "I did not join because she did. I just... wanted to make a difference. To help people."

Azionne sighed. "And here I was, enjoying this dance."

Eventually, some of the dancers around them parted and they found Aurelius, Ndai, and Gogo dancing together. They switched partners and Styrm found himself with Ndai and Gogo.

"Having fun?" she asked, beaming, as she grabbed Gogo's hands and lifted him a few ilms off the ground.

"I suppose so," Styrm replied. "This is not what I expected when we came to Bevelle."

"I haven't learned much," said Ndai. "Some centurion told me that the XVth Legion is still occupying Eorzea, and not much has changed there. And Terra and Celes are still in Garlemald."

Styrm frowned. "The night is not over yet."

"You know, I think this is the first time I've seen you out of your armor," she told him, grinning. "It's a good look for you."

"This dancing is making me dizzy," said Gogo, rubbing his head.

Baithin and Edge squeezed through the crowd. "There you are!" Baithin said. "Archduke Mateus has invited all of us to dine with him!"

Aurelius, overhearing, edged back over to them. "He did? Truly? We'd offend him if we turned that down!"

"Hurry to the banquet table, then," said Azionne.

"You were all invited, too," said Edge, nodding at her, Styrm, and Gogo.

Deciding it would be best to accept his invitation, they made their way to the banquet table at the end of the hall. Mateus sat in the center, gesturing for them all to sit across from him.

"The Vector Ghosts! This year's underdog team, it seems," he said. Up close, he looked much smaller, with a gentle face and deep blue makeup around his eyes. "You have been the talk of Bevelle lately."

"It's an honor to meet you," said Aurelius, performing the Yevon prayer. "I'm glad to hear the people are talking. It'll make the other teams more intimidated by us."

Everyone sat, and Mateus surveyed them all. "Quite a large party you have! And only one Garlean on the whole team?"

"Oh, no, we are not all on the team, my dear," said Granny. She introduced them all.

"Blitzball should be open for everyone to play," said Aurelius. "With only Garleans, we're overlooking a lot of great players. The Vector Ghosts wouldn't have gotten this far without all of us working together."

"Perhaps I will discuss that with the officiators of the league," Mateus responded. "But until then, I have a friend who has been waiting to meet with you."

"A friend?" Baithin asked.

"Pray do not make a scene," said Mateus. "It would not do to alarm the guests."

The shadows behind his chair took form, revealing a Lalafellin figure in a black robe and hood. Styrm shot up to his feet, his hand on his blade. He heard some of the others stand as well.

"Now, now," said Deudalaphon, the Ascian. "I thought he just finished saying not to make a scene?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Big stuff next chapter! Maybe I'll release the next one a bit early if I get some reviews/comments and stuff. :)


	17. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the ball, the Ascian Deudalaphon strikes a deal - and in doing so, reveals the secrets behind Tupsimati, the Dusk Shard, and the ultimate plan of the Ascians.

"Calm yourselves," Deudalaphon said. His deep voice, coming from a Lalafell-shaped body, unnerved Ndai almost as much as the mask that covered his face. "I am only here to talk to you tonight."

Only a table and two plates of food sat between Ndai and Deudalaphon, and she wanted nothing more than to turn tail and run away, but something about his presence made her legs feel locked in place. He hovered in place directly across from her seat, so she tried to make herself small.

"Talk? You are no emissary," said Azionne, her voice so low it gave Ndai chills. She sat right next to her. "You are here to spread the seeds of chaos, like all in your order."

"You are making generalizations," Deudalaphon said. He paused as the songstresses Maria and Lenne rose to a crescendo in their song. "Though I am no emissary, I know when it is prudent to speak with the enemy."

"Wait, who are you?" Aurelius asked. Ndai quietly cursed – Aurelius and the rest of the Ghosts did not have to get involved in this. "Are you here to sabotage my team?"

Deudalaphon folded his hands behind him. "I am here to make a deal with you all."

Baithin, seated on the other side of Ndai, leaned forward. "A deal? Why would we strike a deal with you?"

"You would have much to gain," said the Ascian. "You are currently fugitives and enemies of the Garlean Empire, conspiring with the Resistance in Ala Mhigo. Right now, if he so wished, the Archduke could have you all arrested and executed."

Aurelius stared down the table at them all. "What…?"

Mateus folded his hands in front of him. "I would eradicate the entirety of the Vector Ghosts blitzball team unless you listen to my friend here."

Granny glared at Mateus. "Aurelius and the Vector Ghosts have nothing to do with this."

"If you consent, I will grant you safe passage back to Eorzea – and also return your allies to you," Deudalaphon continued. "The generals, Beatrix and Leo, enslaved by Terra's Magitek." Right on cue, the two Ala Mhigan Resistance members appeared behind the glass doors outside, opening them and standing next to Deudalaphon. Though both now wore white longcoats with golden pauldrons instead of full suits of armor, they still had the circlets on their heads and blank expressions.

Baithin clenched his fist. "Where are Terra and Celes?"

"In Garlemald," said the Ascian. "Ignorant to all of this. I will also hand over the Ala Mhigan princess."

"Amalia?" Ndai exclaimed, speaking for the first time. "You caught her?"

Deudalaphon nodded. "The moment Ala Mhigo fell." He crossed his arms. "Furthermore, I will even give you the Lunatic Pandora, as I have no use for it. That is something Emmerololth wants, not I."

Ndai sat back, her jaw going slack.  _They sure know how to hit us where it counts…_

"That is everything you currently hold over us," Azionne said, her eyes narrowed. "What could you possibly want in return?"

"I have reason to believe that you stole something from Ala Mhigo on the day you fled," Deudalaphon said. "Something that was not yours to take. I believe the royal family called it the 'Dusk Shard.' We had hoped it would be in possession of Princess Sara."

"Her name's Amalia," said Ndai, glaring. "And we didn't steal anything." If she remembered correctly, that was the stone that Amalia entrusted to Edge.

Edge was still. "I don't know what, or where, that is. Anyone could have taken it."

Deudalaphon smirked. "A poor lie. The princess revealed under countless hours of torture that the stone is, in fact, in possession of your group. And she added, quite colorfully, that I'd never find you and take it back from you. Yet… here I am."

Edge stood, his jaw clenched in rage, but Granny spoke first. "What is the Dusk Shard? I would like to know what it is we would be trading to you for everything you promised."

Styrm slapped his hand against the table, rattling the silverware. "No! How could we even consider giving it to these villains? Who knows what nefarious deeds they have planned?"

"The safety of everyone here comes first," Granny said, her voice low and stern. "If we can rescue Beatrix, Leo, and Amalia,  _and_  solve the magic crisis in one fell swoop – our entire reason for being here – it may be worth it."

Deudalaphon laughed, creeping Ndai out even more. "Villains, you say? Perhaps you will change your tune when you learn the Dusk Shard's origins."

"I do not trust anything from the mouth of an Ascian," Azionne said, sitting poised and ready for a spell.

"The Dusk Shard is a small part of a greater whole, broken off of a great stone tablet called the Lucavi Stone in the Era of the Gods." Deudalaphon lowered himself to the tabletop.

"The First Astral Era," said Granny. "Eons ago."

"It was an era of peace and balance," Deudalaphon continued. "Until the arrival of man shattered the Lucavi Stone into twelve pieces, separating it to all ends of the world and ushering in calamity and the First Umbral Era."

"The Age of the Gods is a myth," said Baithin, eyes narrow.

"It is no myth. We Ascians existed in that time, before Darkness and Light," said Deudalaphon. "One other piece of the Lucavi Stone is currently in the possession of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, at the head of Archon Louisoix's staff, Tupsimati."

Ndai felt like this was all going over her head.

"And what would you do with it if we gave it to you?" Edge asked, clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles had turned white.

Deudalaphon spread his hands. "Bring balance back to the world. All you have to do is hand it to me and your troubles will all disappear."

Ndai looked around at the others, trying her hardest to gauge the situation. Balance and safe passage back, with Amalia and the others in tow, did sound nice, but she found that she didn't much care for the success of the mission. She was neither a Riskbreaker nor a Gullwing, after all. Handing the Dusk Shard over would just mean the end of their time together.

She saw Baithin peering at the Ascian contemplatively, Edge staring down at his fists, and Aurelius with the rest of the Ghosts looking over them all in confusion. On her other side, Azionne calmly sipped her wine – a far cry from the barely containable rage she displayed at the parade – though her other hand remained wrapped around her staff. Granny stared at Deudalaphon, her expression unreadable, while Styrm wore a deep frown and Gogo tried his best to hide behind him. Mateus looked at Deudalaphon with nothing but admiration.

As the silence stretched on, Ndai squirmed in discomfort, about to ask if they could have some time to discuss this. Baithin, however, decided to speak up. "I think I can speak on behalf of all of us," he said. "We do not need safe passage home, as we all knew of the danger we were getting into before we even came. I'm not worried about us or our friends – they are stronger than you give them credit for. The Eorzean Alliance has held together this long. They can wait just a little longer to get magic back." He glanced at Azionne, then back to Deudalaphon. "Furthermore, I am not about to trust a single thing you say."

Deudalaphon leveled him with a stare, which Ndai felt the force of even behind his mask. "Does this mean you decline my offer?"

"I believe the Dusk Shard would be safer in our hands," said Baithin. "Especially if it's as important as you say."

"I could not agree more," said Granny, standing. "I believe we are done here."

"Then the only option you leave me is to take the Dusk Shard by force," Deudalaphon said calmly. Shadows licked at all corners of the ballroom, causing the other attendees to scream. Scores of Ascians and Voidsent appeared from the darkness, covering the perimeter of the hall. "Negotiations are not my specialty, anyway."

Edge and Styrm flipped the banquet table over, making Mateus scramble out of the way and Deudalaphon disappear in a whirl of shadow magic. The Archduke fled, and Edge was about to go after him, but Granny held out her hand to stop him.

"Leave him," she said. "He doesn't matter. We must escape and ensure the safety of the people."

"What's going on?" Aurelius asked, his voice high in panic, as he huddled closer to the rest of his teammates. "Who are you guys?"

A bipedal Voidsent creature crossed its dual blades and sent a blast of fire at them, causing Ndai to dive behind the fallen banquet table with Gogo to avoid it. She held onto him in fear – she didn't know if Voidsent creatures were something she could handle.

" _Protect_!" Granny shouted, creating a barrier that defended the rest of them from the blast. Edge leapt over the fallen table and took the creature down, but there were so many more crowding the hall around them. Outside, Ndai saw shadow magic swirling, as if birthing even more of them.

"We'll explain everything later," Baithin said to Aurelius. "But for now, we have to get out of here alive! Can any of you fight?"

Stella, one of their other teammates, stepped forward and pulled a sheathed rapier from the folds of her dress. "I can."

Baithin nodded to her. "Good. Let's clear a path out of here."

Ndai stood, but as soon as she did, two Ascians appeared in front of her. She fell back in fear, but a bolt of lightning from Azionne took them down before they could cast their spells. "Low ranking Ascians," she said. "Powerless."

All around the ballroom, Ndai saw some of the attendees fighting back against the Ascians and Voidsent, most of them Garlean officers, but some were even being cut down. Granny hurried their party into movement as Ndai and the others formed a protective circle around the Vector Ghosts.

Stella jabbed forward with her rapier. " _Demi Sword_!" The blast of gravity magic flattened an ahriman into the ground, where Baithin fell onto it with his own rapier.

" _Liquid Steel_!" he said, coils of water swirling around his weapon. "You're a Red Mage, too?"

"In training," Stella responded. She seemed remarkably composed. "Shall we go out through the kitchens?"

Ndai twirled, channeling her chakra out to the rest of them to make everyone lighter on their feet. A pair of imps came at them from above, but Ndai flicked open her bladed fans and swept them out of the way, downing one with a leaping kick while Styrm cut down the other.

"Okay, maybe Voidsent aren't so bad," she said, landing on her feet.

The long windows shattered and the entire palace shook, to the point that Ndai struggled to keep her balance. A deep, jagged crack webbed across the vaulted ceiling, bringing down a pillar in the center of the hall with a loud crash. The impact knocked Ndai off her feet, throwing her away from the others. Another Voidsent launched a fire spell at her, which she scrambled to avoid but couldn't keep the hem of her dress from being singed. She beat out the flames, but stopped when she saw a creature outside that was larger than anything living she had seen before. She couldn't even see its true height. Only its legs – thick, clawed, and inky black – showed through the window. The rest of it, she assumed, was the cause of the damage against the palace.

She looked back to the others, dazed, as they regrouped – without her. Fallen rubble obstructed her path from them, not to mention Voidsent that quickly filled the open space. Only Aurelius was with her.

"Ndai!" Baithin shouted to her from across the hall. He tried cutting away at the Voidsent in his path to her, but there were too many. "Aurelius!"

"Don't worry about us!" she called back. "I'll be okay!" She hoped so, at least.

"Regroup at Yevon Cathedral!" Granny shouted. Ndai gave her a thumbs up to indicate that she heard, but then the chandelier fell.

Glass and crystal shards exploded outward when it crashed to the floor, scratching and cutting Ndai's bare arms and legs as she covered her face. She flattened her ears against her head, whimpering in pain. Around her, others weren't so lucky. Some had been completely crushed while others struggled to move under their ball gowns, many of them torn. Panic gripped them all, as some scrambled to run away as fast as they could despite their wounds.

Aurelius held his arm, scarlet blood staining his black suit. "Ndai… I don't understand what's happening."

"Everyone, please! Just stay calm!" She tried to raise her voice over the din of battle echoing through the hall, but none of them listened.

Dismissing that as a lost cause, she decided to dance.

She started with a slow, healing waltz, waving her fans and releasing a soothing green light that washed over them all. She felt her own wounds healing, losing herself in the motions and drawing out her chakra, but none of the people thanked her. Instead, they ran away. She just hoped they'd have a better chance – whether they were Garlean or not.

Ndai folded her fans. "I've done all I can do for them," she said. She turned to Aurelius. "How do we get to the cathedral from here?"

He paused for a moment, still not sure what to make of her or the situation, but he looked outside the shattered windows. "There's a courtyard through there, but…" He didn't have to continue – the enormous monster was right out there.

"I don't get it," she said, frowning. "Isn't Deudalaphon on the Garleans' side? Or at least Mateus'? Why is he destroying the palace? Hurting random people?"

High above, gunfire resounded throughout the palace. Garlean warships filled the skies, blasting the giant monster with their artillery. Blue shields of light blinked into existence, indicating foot soldiers who engaged the Voidsent and Ascians on the ground as the people evacuated behind them.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see Garlean airships!" Ndai exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Let's go!"

"Right out into the middle of all that?" Aurelius asked, dumbfounded. "But we could get crushed! Or shot at!"

She pulled him along. "Would you rather be eaten by Voidsent?"

Ndai sliced an imp in her path and had to dodge the spellwork of an Ascian on the way to the courtyard, but once outside, she started to reconsider her decision. The monstrous legs she saw were two of four planted on the ground, its hind legs touching down beyond the palace walls. The Voidsent, even on its four legs, was almost as tall as the whole palace, its body like a hairless hound's with a maw like a behemoth. Its teeth gnashed at one of the towers until the warships distracted it enough, and instead it directed its attention to swatting them out of the sky.

Ndai ran as fast as she could, giving the monster a wide berth and ducking behind any obstacles that seemed stable enough. A line of hedges sat between her and the outer walls, with a stone path leading right to a gap in the hedges. She grabbed Aurelius' arm and ran towards the gap, seeing the lights of Bevelle flashing beyond.

Running through the gap, she had to stop short when she saw another row of hedges, but the path wound around until it split in multiple directions. The neatly trimmed hedges were all around them, drowning out some of the noise from the battle.

"Should we try a different way?" she asked, coming to a stop and catching her breath.

"It's a hedge maze," said Aurelius. "Let's just find the way out."

Ndai's shoulders dropped. "What I wouldn't do for some fire magic right now."

"Try this way," Aurelius said, pointing down one of the paths. They both continued, coming to an open space with a marble bust in the center. "Once we get out of here, I want you to tell me everything."

Ndai nodded. She just wished they could have enjoyed the ball more with everyone. "I will."

"Ah, here you are." Ndai froze when she heard the voice, whirling around to see Deudalaphon hovering behind her, splitting her off from Aurelius. Her heart hammered against her chest.

Unable to come up with a witty response, she flicked open her fans, but her hands shook so much she felt like she was going to drop them. Aurelius, unarmed, backed against the hedges.

"Hand over the Dusk Shard, girl," he said. "You have no understanding of the amount of power contained in even one Lucavi Stone."

"Why do you think I have it?" she asked.

"You're the thief of your little party, are you not?" he asked. "Running off alone into the night certainly paints you as a suspicious target."

Ndai glared, trying her hardest not to seem so afraid.  _What do I do? What do I do?_ She was powerless against someone like him, who not even Azionne could strike successfully. "Well, you're wrong," she said. "I don't have the Dusk Shard."

"A pity," said Deudalaphon. "That may have saved your life." He held up his hand. " _Dark_."

Shadows pulsed out from him, clawing at her from all sides and causing her to shriek with pain. It did no physical damage to her, but it felt colder and sharper than ice and somehow also smelled of rot, eating away at her from the inside. She fell forward, convulsing, distantly hearing Aurelius' screams on the other side of the clearing.

_I'm gonna die… No one's going to show up to save us this time._

The magic stopped, leaving her twitching on the ground, but an invisible force gripped her and pulled her to a standing position, where she stumbled but somehow managed to remain standing. She looked at Deudalaphon, spotting Aurelius behind him in a similar condition as her. Her breaths came quick and shallow.

"We already have a few Lucavi Stones in our possession, you know," said Deudalaphon. He held out a stone that looked similar to the Dusk Shard, but cut into a roughly triangular shape. "This one, the Cetra Keystone, is a powerful focus for trans-dimensional magic. It's how I brought my gargantuan friend over there to this plane, you see. I could very easily display its power to you by transporting you to the Void itself…" He spread his arms wide, preparing to cast a spell.

_I don't want to die…_

"Just shut up," Ndai choked out. "Deudalaphon, do you like blitzball? Ever see the Vector Ghosts' signature pincer maneuver?"

Aurelius glanced up at her, understanding in his eyes, and dashed at Deudalaphon from behind. He fell back into a slide, coming at the Ascian from below, but like many times before, an invisible force knocked him back before he could touch Deudalaphon. At the same time, Ndai leapt at him, aiming for his outstretched hand.

She snatched the Cetra Keystone right out of his grip.

Her whole arm tingled as she held onto it, feeling the rush of power and chakra flooding into her from her surroundings. "Whoa…"

"What?" Deudalaphon canceled his spell, a red glyph flashing in front of his mask. "You dare…"

She clutched the warm stone with both hands before the Ascian could reach her.  _Trans-dimensional? Does that mean this can get me out of here_?  "I hope this works like a teleport spell…"  _Just bring me back to my friends! Please!_


	18. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gogonegi and the others fight through waves of Voidsent, the enslaved Ala Mhigan generals, and the power of the Ascians to flee from the ball and the Garlean city, Bevelle.

Gogonegi was not having a nice time at the ball.

Even before they met the Ascian Deudalaphon, attendees at the ball kept stepping on his toes or bumping into him, not used to having a Lalafell around. Several Garleans had even mistaken him for a child, and spoke to him as such, humiliating him further. Even though he wasn't one for dancing, Ndai had insisted on pulling him along to the dance floor, but she did that with everyone.

Now, after splitting up from Ndai and Aurelius, things were even worse. Several large, flying Voidsent had tried to carry Gogo off already. Ascians had managed to destroy some of his machines with their spells, and it didn't take him long to start running low on ammo. He just hoped Ndai was okay.

Granny launched a stone spell at a vodoriga that made a dive for Gogo, downing it with a shrill cry. "Baithin, Styrm! There are people still in that chandelier wreckage, near those ahriman!"

"Got it!" Baithin replied, running over to them with Stella and Styrm. Gogo aimed a few shots at a vodoriga high above before it could unleash a wave of void energy down at them, opening the way for Styrm to cut down the Voidsent that surrounded the survivors. Apparently, Styrm's time with Granny and Azionne had been good for him – he carried himself in battle like a completely different person, much calmer than he was before.

Azionne hurled fire, ice, and lightning at all of the Ascians who appeared to her, and as they fell, they left bodies behind, but every time it happened a black formless energy left the corpses. Gogo did not know what to make of that. It frightened him to think about what types of beings the Ascians were, or what they were capable of. Edge fought alongside Azionne, clearing the way for their escape from the palace, striking Voidsent and Ascian alike with his bare fists.

Gogo and Granny stayed close to the rest of the Vector Ghosts and the small amount of survivors who latched onto their group. "Where are the kitchens?" Gogo asked. Stella had said that there should have been a back exit through there.

"I saw some palace staff earlier coming out from the sides of the stage," Granny answered. "Head that way, everyone!"

The entire palace foundation shook as they made their way over and the sounds of battle increased outside of the palace. They all looked up, through the windows, as the monstrous Voidsent outside shoved its head through part of the wall. Glass and debris rained down as its black teeth – formed together with the rest of its face – gnashed together. Its blank white eyes stared at the destruction it had wrought, and it opened its unhinged jaws wide with a bestial roar. Most disconcerting of all, however, was the human-shaped torso on top of its head, completely white with crossed arms and a head with no face, with a halo attached to its back inscribed with runes.

Gogo ducked low, shaking. "There's no way we can take that thing!"

Azionne stared at it, eyes wide. Even she stepped back in fear. "How is this possible? Did Deudalaphon summon that?"

"What? Do you know what that thing is?" Edge asked, gaping.

"It is a Voidsent lord, one of the highest in their hierarchy," Azionne said, frozen in place. "Called Necron. The Cloud of Darkness itself is one of the few beings that are stronger than it."

"Come, everyone," Granny urged them. The survivors that came with them scattered in fear. "Keep moving. We must leave this place. Leave Bevelle."

" _Dualcast_." White coat flapping, Beatrix leapt to the ruins of the stage, holding her sword in front of her face as she gathered magic at the tip of it. Gogo nearly swore - he had forgotten that Deudalaphon had brought them along. She flashed toward Edge before any of them could react. " _Flametongue_!  _Shock_!"

She swiped Save the Queen at him twice. Edge managed to roll to the side of the blade engulfed in flames, but her second swing was too fast for him. He convulsed as it cut him in the side, her lightning magic coursing through him.

" _Magic burst_ ," said Beatrix, her gaze expressionless as she jumped back out of reach from Edge. She lifted her blade up high, then brought it down in a heavy cleave. " _Climhazzard_!"

Granny thrust her staff forward. " _Water_!" Her spell knocked Edge out of the path of Beatrix's magic, which was a blast of energy that tore through the floor and even destroyed a pillar on the other side of the ballroom. Granny's spell had saved his life.

"General Beatrix, can you hear me?" Baithin asked, cautiously drawing his rapier. "We don't want to fight you! We're allies, remember?"

"I am loyal only to Lady Terra and Celes," she said, dropping into a stance. "You are her enemies, so I will kill you."

Stella ripped the hem of her dress, giving her extra movement. "Dualcast? That's some fearsome red magic…"

Azionne pointed her staff behind Gogo, launching a fire spell over his head that he swore singed the tips of his hair. "Stay on guard! Leo is here as well."

Gogo whirled around, spotting the other Ala Mhigan general blocking her spell with a magic shield. Styrm stepped protectively in front of Gogo to face the large man.

"We cannot defeat them," said Granny, kneeling down at Edge's side. Even from where Gogo stood, he saw that the Monk's breaths came shallow as she knitted up his wound with her magic. "We must flee."

Leo rushed at Styrm, swinging his blade with so much speed that the Roegadyn struggled to parry his blows.

"We will not let you escape," said Beatrix.

"Fight the Slave Crown's influence!" Baithin urged her. "If we can just try to knock it off your heads…"

" _Blizzard_!" Azionne incanted, shooting an ice spell at her. "Then try to help instead of just standing there like a frightened chocobo."

"I will stay back to hold them off," said Granny, standing. "Azionne, you stay with me. Baithin, lead everyone else to safety."

Aiswyb helped Edge stand, throwing his arm over her shoulders. "You can't beat them both," Edge grunted.

"We will buy you time," Azionne answered. Gogo gaped at them - they couldn't possibly last very long...

Stella lifted her rapier. "This should help!  _Enthunder_!" Her magic spread to Baithin and Styrm's swords, making them crackle with electricity. The shock traveled down Leo's blade as it clashed with Styrm's, stunning him long enough for Styrm to disengage and run back with the others. Gogo aimed a shot at Leo's legs, but he blocked it with another magical barrier.

"Neat trick!" Baithin said to Stella. "Teach me that spell later!"

"Will do," she said, grinning. "Now let's go!"

Beatrix charged another spell, but Baithin was faster. " _Paralyze_!" he shouted. The magic took hold of her limbs, clamping them to her sides, giving Baithin and the Vector Ghosts time to run to the hall that led to the kitchens.

Gogo looked back at Granny and Azionne, his chin trembling. He had a bad feeling about leaving them behind – Deudalaphon was nowhere to be seen.

Leo snarled. " _Chainspell_ ,  _Flame_ …"

Necron roared again, its cry piercing Gogo's ears and disorienting him. He didn't hear Styrm shout, but suddenly found the ground disappearing from under him as the Roegadyn lifted him with one hand. An explosion rocked the palace, devouring the stage and incinerating everything on it. Gogo and the others ducked into the side hallway as rubble crashed down all around them. Everything was a blur as he felt himself moving, jostling along in the air as Styrm carried him somewhere.

"Granny… And Azionne… Are they okay?" Gogo mumbled out. He could barely hear his own voice.

"We're right here, dear." He heard her voice, but it sounded so far away. Styrm stopped moving for a moment, allowing Gogo's vision to focus in on the old woman smiling softly at him. "Necron's blast allowed us time to escape."

They had stopped at a junction in the hallway. Baithin doubled over, panting, while Granny cast more of her healing magic on Edge.

"Do you think Beatrix and Leo survived that?" Baithin asked, glancing back with worry.

"Did anyone?" Stella asked, glancing back with worry.

"I do not want to linger here long enough to find out," said Azionne. Parts of her dress had been scorched. "The exit is right over there." They rushed outside, through the chaos of the aerial battle against Necron being waged above.

"That Mateus would allow this in his own home…" Styrm clenched his fist. "He is just as much of a monster as the Ascians."

Azionne destroyed the outer walls with her magic, letting them escape into the city. "The Yevon Cathedral is on the outskirts of the city," she said. "Make haste, everyone."

Even the streets of Bevelle were in a panic, though the Voidsent were mostly being contained to the palace. By the time they found the cathedral, hundreds of people had gathered around it.

"It seems we are not the only ones to seek shelter here," said Granny.

"Will Ndai and Aurelius be able to find us in all this?" Edge asked.

A Garlean man in tattered formal clothes pointed at them, rage contorting his face. "It's them! They're the ones behind this! Those Voidsent didn't appear until they came!"

It seemed that all faces in front of the church turned to them, regarding their group with fear and revulsion. Gogo quailed, fearing the very real possibility that a mob could maul them all.

"That isn't true!" Baithin shouted. "We were fighting against them!"

Someone threw a stone at him in response, striking his forehead. Baithin recoiled, clutching his head in pain. It had already started to bleed.

"I knew we shouldn't have let foreigners into our city!" someone else shouted. More and more people began yelling curses at them.

"May you be devoured by Sin!"

"Get out of our city!"

"You heathens!"

"Perhaps we should leave," said Styrm, drawing back.

Azionne scowled. "They are worse than the Lambs of Dalamud." Even so, she nodded. "Let's go."

Gogo stared in the direction of the airship docking tower. "But what about the  _Fahrenheit_?" he asked, but no one heard him. He bit his lip, wiggled his fingers in anxiety, and set his gaze forward, slipping into the crowd before the others noticed he was gone. He'd use his small size to his advantage.

First, he ducked into an alleyway and pulled his item pack from his back. He shrugged out of his formal jacket and slacks and changed into his dull red dalmatica and breeches, and put his goggles back on his head for good measure. If anyone saw him, he didn't want to be connected to the Archduke's ball. Making sure his gun was loaded and in good condition, he went back out into the streets, maneuvering around panicked people who didn't even look twice at him.

Gogo realized it probably was not a good idea to separate, especially since they had already lost Ndai and Aurelius.  _But we need the airship_ , he thought.  _I just hope they kept going out of the city._

By the time he reached the docking bay, it was already crowded with people pushing to leave the city all at once. He didn't know what all the fuss was about – this part of the city was much quieter in comparison, and didn't even have any Voidsent. Like the rest of the crowds, he pushed his way through their forest of legs and to the lift that would bring him to the upper levels of the tower, where their ship had docked.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the  _Fahrenheit_  still there and unharmed. He hadn't been sure what to expect after all of this, but he went right through all of the hustle and bustle. He passed by the Vector Ghosts' airship, which he liked quite a lot, but that one would have to stay behind. The  _Fahrenheit_  was smaller, but it would hopefully be able to fit them all just for the flight to Garlemald.

Three sets of long legs stepped into his path, and he looked up to see a trio of Garlean men blocking his path. He had met them earlier that night.

"You're the kid that hangs around the Ghosts, aren't you?" said the ringleader, glaring down at him. Gogo knew his name – Noctis, captain of the Vector Behemoths. "You're all behind this madness, aren't you? Those monsters didn't attack the palace until after you showed up!"

"Please move out of the way," Gogo replied, glancing around. If anyone heard, he'd be in trouble. "We're not behind anything!"

Noctis scowled. "I knew it was a bad idea to let you people into the league. Gladio, Prompto, keep an eye on him! I bet the lot of them are spies! I'm going to report him to the authorities!"

Gogo set his mouth into a thin frown and pointed his gun directly at Noctis' face. "You won't. And I asked you to move." All three of them stared at him, as if contemplating whether they could fight back or not. Gogo didn't care – he could take  _them_ , at least! "If you're trying to get the Ghosts disqualified, that's a cowardly way of beating them. It won't be a true win."

Noctis sputtered. "How dare you! My father is Governor Barthandelus of Vector!"

"Just walk away," Gogo said. He pointed the gun at the man's feet. "Or your blitz career will be ruined forever."

All three blitz players glanced at each other, put their hands up, and backed away, glaring at him. Gogo put his gun back on his belt and walked to the  _Fahrenheit_. As he climbed up the ladder, he hoped no one could see his hands trembling, but he nervously laughed all the same.

Settling into the cockpit, he grinned to himself as he took off.

In the air, Gogo saw the crowd focused around one of the exits of the city, which was closest to Yevon Cathedral and where he hoped his friends had departed from. The Bevelle Woods surrounding the city were in a thick jumble, expanding out for several malms in every direction. He flew low, maneuvering around the city's spires and frenzied flights of other airships rushing for the Wastelands. Once he passed the city boundary, he tried his best to scan the ground, but he saw a spout of water magic gush from below the treetops, and landed in the closest clearing, recognizing the sign from Granny.

Thick pines and interwoven maple branches made the landing a little difficult, but he managed. He rushed up to the  _Fahrenheit_ 's deck just in time to see his friends emerging from the forest.

"Gogo!" Edge called. "We didn't see you sneaking off! We were worried!"

Aiswyb clasped her hands in front of her chest. "Did you see Aurelius and Ndai?"

Gogo shook his head. "No… But we can wait here for a little."

At that moment, Ndai appeared in midair in a flash of light and fell on top of Styrm. Aurelius appeared at the same time, falling to the ground ungracefully.

"Oof!" Styrm grunted, managing to catch Ndai. He looked up. "Where did you come from?"

Ndai looked around, blinking, and her face split into a grin. "Ah! It worked!" She held out her hand, displaying a stone that looked a lot like the Dusk Shard, but longer and slimmer. "We were attacked by Deudalaphon! We managed to get away, but he might still come after us! This stone…"

Aiswyb rushed to Aurelius' side. "Please… I want to go," he said, staring up at them with fear in his eyes.

"Onto the airship, then," said Granny. "Quickly, now."

Before any of them could move, a black portal swirled in the center of the clearing and Deudalaphon stepped out of it. "That is the  _last_ time you will ever take me unawares," he snarled to Ndai, holding out his hand toward her. An invisible force struck her and sent her careening, the new stone dropping from her hands. It flew into his grip. "I applaud you, young thief. But where is the Dusk Shard? I will pry it from your corpses if I have to."

Gogo crouched down behind the rail on the airship, breathing heavily.  _What can I do? We must have something on this ship I can use_!

"Just leave us alone!" Edge shouted, launching himself at Deudalaphon with a flying kick. The Ascian deflected the blow with his hand, then touched Edge's chest with his other. Edge stopped in midair, restrained by Deudalaphon's magic. "Let me go!"

"Such a demanding young man," said Deudalaphon. "Monk of Ala Mhigo. I wonder…" Deudalaphon twisted his wrist, and a light shone from Edge's pocket. The Dusk Shard emerged of its own accord, floating into the Ascian's grip. He moved his other hand to Edge's side, where Beatrix had cut him earlier. "Oh, this wound was healed already? No, that won't do.  _Reverse_."

Black energy swarmed into Edge's side, his wound reopening. The miasma continued to flow into him, and he screamed. Deudalaphon released his hold on him, leaving Edge to crumple to the ground. Aurelius, Aiswyb, and the other Vector Ghosts fell back to the edge of the clearing in fear.

"Ser Edge!" Styrm shouted.

Baithin grit his teeth. "We have to go for an all-out offense if we're to make it out of this."

"I could not agree more," said Azionne, stepping back. She began channeling a spell, her staff held high. "Keep him occupied."

Stella raised her rapier. "I'll help!  _Enfire_!"

His own rapier lit in flame, Baithin sent a jab at Deudalaphon. " _Shadowstitch_!" Deudalaphon waved his hand, dismissing the attack and throwing Baithin backwards.

At the same time, Styrm delivered a fast cleave through the shadows wreathing the Ascian's form, the flames from his blade dispersing them. Ndai came next, using Styrm's shoulders to leap off him and fall down on Deudalaphon from above with a kick and a slice from her fans. Before the Ascian could retaliate, Granny distracted him with a wind spell. He smacked her aside, but Baithin and Stella pierced his shadowy robes together - though the wound did not bleed.

Voidsent popped into existence all around them, snarling and growling and happy to be let loose in their world, forcing Styrm and Ndai to switch their attention to disposing of them.

After digging through his item bag, Gogo found what he was looking for – a goblin bomb, made special by his goblin assistant Cogflox. Silently thanking her, he peeked his head over the rail. "Everyone, clear out!" he shouted.

Styrm and Ndai jumped back, hiding behind a shield that Granny created, and Gogo threw the bomb.

The short-range blast rocked the clearing, but when the dust cleared, Gogo saw that Deudalaphon had managed to throw up a shield of his own – a black orb that completely covered his form. The shield fell, and he turned to Gogo. "A wasteful effort, though you did manage to kill or scare off the Voidsent," Deudalaphon said with a snarl. The red glyph shone in front of his mask again, and tendrils of energy snaked out toward Gogo. " _Dark_." The magic gushed under Gogo's feet, making him scream in pain and fall to the airship's deck, writhing and nauseous.

By that point, Azionne had finished casting her spell. " _Flare_."

A conflagration erupted over Deudalaphon's head, the flames so hot they were white and blue, searing the clearing. Gogo felt the heat on his face even from the airship, and it hurt his eyes to watch the flames swirl and devour the Ascian's form. Hope swelled within him - surely that was enough...

When the magic died down, Gogo was shocked to see Deudalaphon hunched over in the center of the now barren ground, flames burning the foliage around him. Everyone else watched him warily, their weapons bared, but it was plain to see how tired they all were. Gogo could barely lift his own limbs.

A swirl of black energy emerged from the Lalafell-shaped Ascian, hovering above his head. "This was not our last confrontation." It took Gogo a moment to realize Deudalaphon's voice came from the swirl of energy and not the body of the Ascian, but before anyone could reply, it disappeared and the hooded body fell to the ground.

Ndai cautiously approached the body. "Did… Did we win?"

"Momentarily," said Azionne. "Deudalaphon has left his host, but his spirit lives on. It is impossible to truly kill an Ascian."

Granny knelt down next to the Lalafell on the ground, pulling back his hood to reveal a boy no older than Gogo, with a shock of red hair and closed eyes. He looked restful. "Even that took everything we had. The host is dead," said Granny, frowning deeply. "Poor child." She gently pulled the Dusk Shard and the other stone from his grip, and used her staff to help her stand.

Aurelius hefted Edge's unconscious form over his back. "I don't understand any of this…"

"We'll explain everything," said Baithin. "On the way to Garlemald."

Ndai glanced down at the body of Deudalaphon's host, her hands on her knees. "Are we just going to… leave him?"

"We have to," said Granny. "Beatrix and Leo are still in the city. If they find us, we will have no strength left to fight them off. We must go now."

With shaking hands and legs, Gogo lifted himself off of the airship deck. Garlemald was where Terra and Celes were, not to mention the other Ascian, Emmerololth. The heart of the Empire, and they were headed right to it.

There were still many more battles ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: How many FF final bosses can I cram into this fic? I mentioned Sin a few chapters ago, and now Necron makes an appearance... I guess we'll see! :)
> 
> It may have seemed easy for them to defeat Deudalaphon here, but he's not on the same level as Lahabrea. The Warrior of Light needed Hydaelyn's help and a blade of light to beat Lahabrea, but I think that was also to destroy the Crystal of Darkness that was binding Lahabrea to Thancred. My characters had no such help, and thus they could not destroy the Crystal of Darkness - only Deudalaphon's host.


	19. Gullwing Interlude: Mission Time!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the home and headquarters of the Gullwings, Cogflox the goblin is minding her own business when a visitor comes knocking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: A look back at what the Gullwings are up to! Things are getting even more serious back in Eorzea...

_**Three Weeks Ago** _

With Uplander Gogonegi gone, Cogflox Twinklygears the goblin was having the time of her life.

 _She_  was the boss of their workshop now. The first thing she did when he left was scribble over the sign on his door that said  _"Gogo's Workshop,"_  replacing it with  _"Cog's Workyplace"_ in an untidy scrawl. She now had as much gobbiecheese and as many gobbiebombs as she wanted, but several Gullwings had come by already to tell her that she still lived at Home and couldn't burn the place down or chase them out with the stink of her cheese. The Uplanders didn't appreciate her, oh no. She'd show them!

Cog was on her way to stick chunks of gobbiecheese all over their downstairs kitchen, the Chef's Knife, when she heard a knock at the front door. She considered ignoring it for a moment, or even hiding – it  _could_ be an agent of the Illuminati after her gobbiecheese. The recipe she used was an original Brayflox creation, and Brayflox was her aunt's brother-in-law's son's second gobbiewife's older sister, after all, and that close relation was nothing to scoff at. Then Cogflox realized the Illuminati couldn't possibly know she had joined the Gullwings, and considered the idea that it  _could_ be Sweetnix Rosycheeks, the prettiest goblin in the realm, here to offer Cogflox a modeling contract.

After dropping her sack of gobbiecheese on the spot and going to answer the door, Cog was severely disappointed to see that it was just some Uplander woman she didn't recognize. Uplander  _Midlander_ , in fact, though Cog wasn't sure why those silly Hyur chose to call themselves something that sounded so like "Uplander." It only resulted in lots of confused goblins.

Cog peeked out the door. "Is strange Uplander here to discuss busydeals with Cogflox?"

The woman raised an eyebrow, perplexed. "No?"

"Goodbye, then," said Cogflox, moving to close the door.

The woman put out her hand to stop her. "Wait! Do the Gullwings live here? Particularly Gogonegi?"

"No, no, strange Uplander has wrong guildyplace," said Cogflox, pushing against the door in an attempt to close it.

Someone behind Cog made a gagging sound. "Ugh, Cog, did you leave your goblin cheese lying around again?" She recognized the voice, which belonged to Uplander Nathan, who she only remembered because he once saved her and Gogo from a camp of unfriendly gobbie ruffians.

The stranger shoved her arm through the door. "Wait! May I come in?"

Cog sighed – there was no getting around allowing the visitor in now. She relented and stepped back, shooting an annoyed glare at Uplander Nathan and the Lalafell with him, Uplander Mip Map, who was the head chef of the Chef's Knife. Neither of them noticed her glare under her mask, though.

Uplander Nathan crossed his arms. "Can we help you?"

The stranger put her hands on her hips. Now inside, Cog got the chance to fully look at her. She wore a blacksmith's apron and thick gloves, with goggles and a bandana that covered her dark hair, styled in dreadlocks. "Is this the home of the Gullwings?"

Uplander Mip Map waved. "Yes indeedie! Are you here for a bite to eat? Or business, perhaps?"

"A bit of the latter, in truth," she said. "I'm looking for Gogonegi. I was his caretaker back in Limsa Lominsa after his parents kicked 'im out, and I haven't heard from 'im in a while. Bit worried."

Cogflox was about to return to her workshop when her ears perked up at her assistant's name being mentioned. She turned back to the stranger. "Strange Uplander looks nothing like Uplander Gogo! Uplander Gogo is Cogflox's friendyworker."

"Is he, now?" she asked, smiling. "Gogonegi was something of my 'friendyworker' back in Naldiq & Vymelli's. I taught the boy everything he knows as an armorer."

"Who are you, exactly?" Nathan asked. Cogflox couldn't tell if his eyes were narrowed in curiosity or suspicion, but she often confused several Uplander expressions with each other.

"The name's Sylvia Alberona." At that, Nathan and Mip Map glanced at each other. "What's with the looks on yer faces?"

"Do you want to come downstairs and join us for supper?" Mip Map asked her. "I've made some quiche."

Cogflox grabbed her sack of gobbiecheese and ran to the stairs. "Cogflox gobbiecheese is best ingredient!" So far, out of all the Gullwings, only Uplander Ahtynwyb appreciated her gobbiecheese. Cogflox would have to change that.

In the Chef's Knife, the four of them sat down around a table as Mip Map served them. Cog liked Mip Map because Gogo liked Mip Map.

"Is anything wrong?" Sylvia asked after a moment.

"Gogo's been away on a top-secret mission with the fate of the realm at stake, and we haven't heard from him in weeks!" said Mip Map.

Nathan frowned. "It's not quite as dramatic as that."

Sylvia hooked an arm over the back of her chair. "That doesn't sound like something Gogo'd do. Aren't the Gullwings a group of researchers an' explorers?"

Cogflox, who was too short for her chair, kicked her legs back and forth. "The Riskybreakers bossytalked Uplander Gogo into it! Gogo flew the Riskybreakers to Ala Bungo!"

Nathan slapped his forehead. "Cog, that kind of information could endanger Gogo and the Riskbreakers! This is like the time you blabbed about the artifact we found to everyone in Gridania and someone tried to steal it."

Mip Map lifted a finger. "Also, it's called Ala Mhigo."

Cog shrugged, not particularly caring, and finished gobbling at her quiche. It was delicious, but she was the only one who ate it with gobbiecheese.

Nathan sighed. "One of the other Gullwings went with them, actually. Someone you share a name with, Baithin Alberona."

Sylvia scratched her chin, lowering her gaze. "Baithin, eh? I didn't know he was a Gullwing too. Well, that settles it!" She punched her fist into her palm. "I'm headed to Ala Mhigo!"

"What? Why?" Mip Map asked, frowning. "Don't you at least want to finish your food? You simply can't let it go to waste! No, no!"

Sylvia crossed her arms and tilted her head. "They went with the Riskbreakers, you say? Even I know of that bunch. Old drinking buddies with one, actually. Not surprised they have business in Ala Mhigo. They went to meet with the Resistance, then?"

Nathan frowned again. "I'm not supposed to say."

"Right, right," said Sylvia, waving her arm. "Luckily I've got contacts in the Resistance."

"Are you Baithin's family?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, no," said Sylvia, standing and waving her hand at him. "I met the boy when he was but a green adventurer, fresh out of Sharlayan." She made a motion as if she was holding a bow and arrow. "Taught him to wield a bow. The boy was hopeless in Eorzea without me. Took me name in gratitude, or summat. T'was years after I joined the smithing guilds, so I was a bit out of practice, but even now I still got it."

Cog figured she must be old, then. It was hard for her to tell how old Uplanders were.

Mip Map tilted his head, thinking. "And both found their way to the Gullwings? How interesting! Astronomical odds!"

Sylvia nodded. "More'n that, I had a dream about both of 'em. An' several others I haven't seen in years, too. Nymeia's wheel turns, I tell you. I've got to go find 'em."

Nathan rubbed his head. "A dream? You're going to travel all the way out to Ala Mhigo for that?" He fished into his pocket and held out his hand to Sylvia, a tiny pearl in the center of his palm. "Well, if you are who you say you are, I guess we can trust you. Use this to find them."

"A linkpearl? Thank you," said Sylvia, fixing it to her ear.

"Tell them we're worried about them," said Nathan. "And to come back soon. They've failed their mission with bringing magic back to Eorzea, and our grumpy leader wants to give them a stern talking to."

"Yes indeedie!" said Mip Map, grinning.

A set of heavy feet came down the stairs, and Cogflox recognized the person when they reached the bottom as the largest Uplander of the Gullwings, Mhastoum, and second-in-command. "Ah! Down here! Gullwings, we've got a mission!"

Nathan sighed. "But I just got back from my last one! Shipping all that lumber out for rebuilding Highbridge took a lot of work…" Cogflox was aware that most of the Gullwings were indirectly helping in the wake of the magic crisis throughout the realm, mostly when it came to healing, rebuilding, and resupplying those who continued to fight against the Garleans, but Cogflox herself mostly holed herself up in her workshop, where no one bothered her.

Mhastoum stared at Nathan, silencing him, and then glanced at Sylvia. "Who is this?"

"Ye can count me a friend o' the Gullwings," she said. Nathan and Mip Map nodded.

Another Uplander, also a Roegadyn, came down the stairs but rested her foot up on the last step. Cogflox did not recognize this one – she was a tall woman with red clothes and hair, her muscled arms and abdomen on full display. She looked around. "This is the Chef's Knife, then? I would love to try some of your food some day, but I do not think we have the time right now."

Mip Map hurriedly ran to the bar. "I'll pack some up and bring some! Where to? You can call me Mip Map, by the way!"

The Roegadyn woman put her hands on her hips. "I am Sylvan Rain, of the Riskbreakers. Aran'sae is currently meeting with Ashe right now. I am looking forward to working with all of you."

Mhastoum scratched his head, pointing at Sylvia. "Er, that one's not one of us."

"Not to worry," said Sylvia, as Sylvan straightened and looked tense. "I'm just headin' out, me chocobo's probably getting restless. Thanks for the food, and may the Crystal bless you and keep you."

Once she left, Sylvan crossed her arms. "Well, if she was a spy, our companies have been suspected of working together long before this…"

"Don't worry about her," said Nathan. "She says she's off to find Baithin and Gogo and the others. She knew those two."

"Did she now?" Sylvan asked.

Mip Map waved his arms. "What's our mission? What's happening with Aran'sae and Ashelia?"

Sylvan put her hands on her hips. "We've received reports that Emperor Varis himself is coming to Eorzea, and we think it is to coerce the city-states into surrendering. With the Warriors of Light embroiled in the Dragonsong War in Ishgard, it is up to us to convince the alliance leaders, or what is left of them, not to let this happen."

Cogflox pushed her chair out and hopped off of it. She had lost all interest in the conversation and moved to the stairs, intent on locking herself in her workshop and letting this quagmire blow over.

"More and more are joining the ranks of the Riskbreakers these days," Sylvan continued, as Cog headed for the stairs. "What we lack in magic we are making up in numbers, though I've never needed magic, myself." She clenched her fist, grinning.

"The Gullwings will do our best to bolster the Riskbreakers' strength," said Mhastoum. "If the alliance between the city-states falls, the alliance between our companies will stand, and even we will fight, if we must."

"We're no warriors, but I suppose we could help if the realm truly needs us." Nathan crossed his arms. "Desperate times…"

"Desperate treasures!" Cogflox exclaimed. "Like gobbiebombs! Yes, boom! Cogflox go make some, then no one will bother her anymore. Maybe three gobbiebombs. Cogflox is biggyheart openhandy goblin. Goodbye!"

Cogflox continued up the stairs, but they resumed their conversation. "I've already told mostly everyone," said Mhastoum. "Gullwings, move out!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: The only characters in this chapter that I own are Cogflox and Sylvia Alberona.


	20. Interlude Secundum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celes and Terra have a nighttime discussion.

Celes found Terra staring out of one of the palace's high windows, her eyes fixed on the full moon. It seemed especially large tonight, taking up most of their view of the night sky through the window.

"I did not expect to find anyone roaming the palace so late," said Celes. The imperial palace's dark halls were lit by the moonlight streaming in through all of its windows, casting silvery light on the beautiful landscape paintings across from them. Celes noticed that Terra sat on the windowsill across from the portrait of the former Emperor Solus, but did not comment on it. She hugged her nightgown closer and sat beside her.

"I could say the same to you," said Terra, removing her gaze from the moon to look at Celes. Celes loved the way the moonlight reflected off of her light blonde hair.

"I couldn't sleep," Celes said in reply.

Terra's brow creased in worry. "Is it pain from your materia junctioning?"

"No," Celes replied. "I feel wonderful." That was the truth – she somehow felt stronger, faster, and more durable after implanting the ability to use Para-Magic, like Terra. "I would just like to go home. I do not understand why we must be guests at the palace when Emperor Varis is not even here." This was her first time back at the palace since Emperor Solus' death, and it made her uncomfortable.

"I know what you mean," said Terra, lacing her legs through Celes'. "I just want to go back to my lab. We are being made to wait here until  _His Radiance_  returns from Eorzea, I expect."

"Along with all of his other guests," said Celes. She knew she sounded bitter. They had not left the palace in nearly a week, and palace aides had dragged them and several other highborn Garlean ladies to all kinds of events and feasts every single day. They all knew the reason, but because it was not officially announced, all of the other ladies were aflutter with anticipation. Celes herself did not particularly care which one of them would be chosen. "He plans to celebrate his domination of Eorzea with a wedding." She just wished she would be allowed to leave for the blitzball tournament final taking place in a few days.

Terra returned her gaze to the moon. "Luna would have been a good wife to him."

"She was seven," said Celes. "You can't have known that."

"She'd be twenty-two today," Terra replied. "Even as a child, she adored being groomed into a proper noblewoman. She took to it much more than I did."

"I would assume Varis wants a strong wife," Celes said.

Terra looked at her again. "Luna  _was_  strong."

"You misunderstand," said Celes. She found her gaze drawn to the portrait of Emperor Solus. "He wants someone he can trust, someone with military history. Someone who has proven their worth to the Empire time and time again."

"You or I, then."

"And I do not want that to happen," said Celes. She brushed her finger lightly down Terra's bare leg. In truth, the thought of Terra marrying Varis upset her more than she cared to admit. But Terra was the more ambitious of the two. "I'd rather he picked your sister, Luna. Truly. But…"

Fifteen years ago, along with the servants of House Rozarria, Luna had flown to a settlement in Othard to live with her father, who had been stationed there at the time. On the way, the engines failed and it crashed. Terra, four years her senior, was supposed to go with her, but chose not to because of an argument with her father.

"It would be simpler if Varis never married," said Terra, sighing.

"He has to produce an heir to secure his claim," Celes said. "Especially after the succession crisis. You know that." She glanced at the portrait of the former emperor again. His long beard seemed to twinkle in the moonlight, as it did in life, but other than that the artist did not seem to capture him accurately. There was no warmth in his eyes, no smile hidden under his beard. Though she suspected that he reserved those only for her, as he was never close to his own children or grandchildren.

Celes had taken a liking to the old man from a very young age, and she held memories of him walking her through the gardens and quizzing her on Garlean military history dear. Her father and mother had been mortified when Celes, barely able to walk yet, waddled up to the emperor in the middle of a feast and tugged on his beard, somehow bypassing the attention of him and all of his guards. He had apparently laughed loud enough for the whole hall to hear, which Celes found out later was unheard of, and from then on Celes' father took her to all of their meetings. A few years later, when her parents were the victims of an assassination, Solus allowed her to live in the palace.

"You miss him," said Terra, following her gaze to the portrait. "Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't name you his heir before he died."

"Me?" Celes asked, taken aback. "That would have resulted in an even worse succession crisis. Varis was a High Legatus, and he would have taken that power from me like he did to his uncle."

"Perhaps," said Terra. "Though we should end this conversation lest any possible eavesdroppers misconstrue our words." She wove her hands through Celes' own, and kissed her fingers. "I will see you tomorrow."

A shadow portal opened in front Solus' portrait, revealing the tall, slender form of Emmerololth, shrouded in her robe. "There are no eavesdroppers."

"Ascian," said Celes, standing. Her first instinct was to grab the hilt of her Runic Blade, but she did not carry it on her. She was comforted by the thought that she could wield Para-Magic now. Every hair on the back of her neck stood on end in an Ascian's presence.

"What is it, Emmerololth?" Terra asked her.

"My research into the Lunatic Pandora was set back momentarily by Deudalaphon's failings," said the Ascian.

Celes stepped forward. "His failings?" The smaller Ascian unnerved her more, since he spoke to Terra much less than Emmerololth did, and she suspected that he had goals of his own.

"He has lost his body, though I do not know how," said Emmerololth. Celes widened her eyes at that – she did not know it was possible for them to do that. "He will be back in time for the ritual."

Terra's eyes lit up. "When will it be ready?"

"A few days, at most. I require something of you beforehand."

Terra nodded. "Name your price."

"Though She is weak, Hydaelyn loves her children. We will need one able to draw out Her power to open the Lunatic Pandora."

"I will find a person," said Terra, clasping her hands together in front of her. "And then aether will flourish around the whole planet."

Celes curled a fist into her chest, performing a near-imperial salute without even thinking about it. "For the glory of the Empire."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: I love writing from Celes' POV for some reason.
> 
> Next chapter we'll get back to the main characters!


	21. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baithin and the others finally reach Garlemald, but the Ascian attack in Bevelle has taken Edge out of commission. Having few other options, the group turns to Garlean doctors to save him.

By the time they reached Garlemald, Edge had still not woken.

Granny had exhausted herself through the whole night casting her healing spells on him to no avail. Ndai had even danced across the airship deck, hoping to wake him, but his condition did not get any better. His reopened wound stubbornly refused to be sealed with magic, so Granny had to use bandages, which needed to be changed frequently. His veins around the wound in his side had turned black, probably the result of the miasma Deudalaphon had cast on him.

Figuring his limited knowledge of arcanist healing spells would not be of any help, Baithin went to work healing everyone else who had suffered wounds from the battle, leaving Gogo to take the helm. The  _Fahrenheit_  felt crowded with all of the Vector Ghosts on board, who were somewhat dismayed about leaving their ship behind in Bevelle. The blitzball team had mostly kept to themselves since the departure, especially after Baithin and Ndai told them everything about their true purpose on Ilsabard, and their membership in the Gullwings and the Riskbreakers. Baithin trusted all of them, but he knew it was a lot to take in.

Even Baithin had a lot to think about, considering everything Deudalaphon had told them. They kept the Dusk Shard and Cetra Keystone, as Ndai had said it was called, locked away and hidden in the cargo hold. The Ascian had said they could bring balance to the world, but Baithin wasn't exactly sure what that meant, or how it worked. The whole situation made him uneasy – when they finally went back to Eorzea, he resolved to hand the items over to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and let them deal with it. Deudalaphon had said they already held a piece of the 'Lucavi Stone,' which once belonged to Louisoix Levelleur. If anyone knew about the stones, he figured it'd be the Scions. Since Baithin himself was from Sharlayan, he felt he could trust them with the two stones.

Also, because of the attack on Bevelle, the quarterfinals had been postponed and moved to Garlemald, as Aurelius had learned on the official league transmitter channel.

Garlemald was a dense forest of tall black towers against the bleakness of the Nozarria Wastes, highly elevated on a plateau and hugging a stone spire. A network of bridges connected parts of the city together, resembling vines with brambles. Outside the city, at the bottom of the plateau, Baithin saw the biggest castrum he had ever seen – Castrum Solus, the imperial army's military headquarters. Airships and cruisers flew between the city and the castrum, and others constantly arrived at and departed from the enormous docking bay up above, giving the city the appearance of a hive surrounded by a swarm of bees.

Once they approached and a few sentries on cruisers gave them clearance, they were directed to land in the docking bay in the lower part of the city, near the bottoms of the towers. It felt darker and more cramped than it did when they first approached.

"They must be making us land here because of how crowded the main docking bay is," Aurelius told him, joining him on deck. "The city is split into two parts – Industrialis, where we are now, and Academia, where the main docking bay is."

Aiswyb put her hands on her hips, returning to them from the information center. "Everyone's coming here to see the games, or fleeing from Bevelle. It seems the Voidsent were all driven off, and that enormous one you called Necron vanished shortly after we did. Still, it scared a lot of people."

"When do the quarterfinals begin?" Aurelius asked her.

"This afternoon," she replied. "Our team was given a suite at a hotel in Academia. We have to go there right now to check in with the league officiators and find out when we play. They're in a bit of a scramble after what happened at Bevelle."

Styrm, next to Baithin, scratched his head. "What is a hotel?"

Aurelius and Aiswyb looked at each other and sighed. "Questions like that will tell everyone you're not from the Empire," said Aurelius. "Well, we knew you were Eorzean to begin with, but…"

"It's an inn, but bigger, I suppose," said Aiswyb. "Want to come with us to see it?"

Ndai clapped her hands together, joining them on deck. "I do!"

Styrm looked hesitant, but Baithin nodded to him. "Go on," Baithin said. "Keep them safe."

"Won't you come?" Aisywb asked. "We might not be able to return here before the game."

"Bench me," said Baithin. "At least for the first round. I'll stay here with Granny to make sure Edge is fit to play later!"

Aurelius nodded and started climbing off of the airship with the rest of the team. "We'll see you later, then!"

Baithin reached out to him. "Wait!" When Aurelius looked up, Baithin averted his eyes. "So are you… okay with all this?"

Aurelius shrugged. "Most of it has little to do with me, in truth. And we're your friends and teammates. Just help us win, and we'll worry about what comes next."

Baithin clenched his fist in front of his face, psyching himself up. "You got it!"

Below deck, he found Gogo staring out the window in the bridge, watching other airships fly in. Azionne crossed her arms and sighed at him. "If you're so enamored with the view of the city, why don't you go out and explore it?"

Gogo flinched when she addressed him, but turned to her and played with his fingers. "Well, I don't know if I should go by myself…"

"Why not?" she asked. "You handled yourself well in Bevelle."

Gogo widened his eyes at that, but gave her a tiny smile. "Thank you." He almost ran into Baithin as he left the bridge in his excitement. "Sorry!"

After Gogo left, Azionne turned to Baithin. "I do not know what he likes so much about Garlemald. It is a crowded city."

"Probably all the Magitek," Baithin answered. "He's always wanted to come here, but you don't really say that back at home when we're in a war…"

Granny's cry from the cabins cut him off. "Someone! Come quickly!"

Baithin and Azionne went to Granny in an instant, finding her knelt next to Edge's bed while he thrashed and flailed, grunting in pain. Baithin and Azionne held him down, but he was stronger than both of them.

"Stop it, you'll hurt yourself!" Azionne said through grit teeth.

"He cannot hear us," said Granny. "No matter what spells I cast, his wound will not close. I fear what the Ascian did to him."

Baithin glanced at her. He didn't like the idea, but what choice did they have? "Perhaps a Garlean medic?"

Granny nodded. "That might be our only course of action right now. I will go get help."

* * *

 

The docking bay workers provided them with a guide and a sort of cot that hovered in midair, even while it held Edge. The guide flew Baithin, Granny, and Edge on a small cruiser through the city's spires, rising through the gritty lower part of the city, Industrialis, to Academia, which opened up to the sky. Baithin thought that Azionne might have preferred the Academia side of the city, but she chose to stay behind to watch the airship.

The height of the spires and thin, winding bridges gave Baithin a sense of vertigo, especially with all of the airships flying through them. Flat panels stuck to the sides of many of the towers, many of which reflected perfect images of people blown up to impossible sizes, making Baithin feel like he was right next to them in the picture. Even more impressive, many of them moved, as if replaying a memory of another place and time.

Baithin gaped when he recognized one of the places in the panels. "That's Bevelle! The Archduke's palace!" It depicted the Voidsent Necron's attack on the palace, and the aerial battle of Garlean troops. The footage looped, showing the same trio of warships shooting at the creature.

Another panel showed a blitzball sphere pool in preparation for the tournament games, while yet another displayed a man in an impressive set of armor and a crown boarding an airship. "Simply astounding," said Granny, similarly transfixed by the panels. "That man must be Emperor Varis."

"He is!" said their guide. "He's headed to Eorzea to give their terms of surrender. Don't know why they've tried to keep fighting for this long, without their magic and everything…"

Baithin and Granny glanced at each other, frowning. At least they were still fighting back home. He looked back to the guide. "Where are you taking us?"

"Galbadia Garden," the guide replied. "Garlemald's military academy. It also holds our most impressive medical center in the city! Only the best care for blitzball quarterfinalists!"

Baithin couldn't help but wonder how many people fell from the enormous towers and network of walkways as they ascended through the capital city. Eventually, they came to a platform that housed what could only be the imperial palace, an imposing monstrosity in black and red and gold. Expansive and opened wide, the towers within the palace grounds were not connected like the ones throughout the rest of the city. He could see aides, soldiers, and people dressed so extravagantly they could only be heads of noble houses patrolling the platform, even from high above. The other towers were spaced far away from it, so as to not impose on its splendor.

He didn't get to look at it much longer, as the guide flew them right past the palace to another large platform, this one round with a dome-shaped building that was open to the air, displaying the inner levels and main lobby like some sort of skeleton. It housed many other buildings inside of it, but all of the structure had a glass dome partially covering it, shielding the inside from the weather. Their guide landed the cruiser on the platform, and Edge's Magitek stretcher hovered off with the guide.

"Galbadia Garden?" Granny scoffed. "This metal monstrosity is no garden."

Within its halls, Baithin marveled at how clean everything was. The structure circled around a central spire with a lift in the center, carrying people to different floors. Young cadets, all pureblood Garlean and in uniform, walked right past them, though many glanced at the old Roegadyn woman walking alongside the stretcher. Baithin tried not to think about how these kids could one day grow up to be military officers with a tight fist over his homeland. Right now, whether he liked it or not, they needed Garlean help for Edge.

Their guide led them to a small building off of the main path through Galbadia Garden, and down another short hallway to an empty office. "Oh," said the guide, slumping over. "I had hoped to see Doctor Kadowaki here. She is very kind."

"Kadowaki? That sounds like a Doman name," said Granny. Edge moaned, blearily blinking up at Baithin, barely conscious.

A woman walked into the room behind them, tall and slender with a blue headband holding back her dark hair, and a matching scarf wrapped around her neck and long enough to reach her hips. Other than that, she wore a long white coat. "That is because she is Doman." She put a hand on her hip, the other holding a long, thin pipe that she put against her lips, smoking it. "Or rather, she was Doman. Am I not kind enough for you?"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" said the guide, bowing deeply. "This is Doctor Arecia al-Recia. I'll be going now." Without another word, the guide left.

"And you must be from Radz-at-Hahn," said Granny.

The woman shrugged and straightened her spectacles, her movements languid and relaxed. "Very astute of you. Are you in the habit of pointing out others' nationalities? I am well aware that I am not Garlean."

Granny smiled. "It is because I am an experienced traveler, I suppose. It has been many years since I've been to Radz-at-Hahn."

Doctor Arecia moved to Edge's stretcher. "Likewise. Doctor Kadowaki is busy right now, so I will help you. What is wrong with him?"

"A dark mage did it," said Baithin, eager to help. "He put some kind of miasma into him. We were at the Archduke's ball in Bevelle."

Doctor Arecia pursed her lips, leaning on one leg. "Magic, you say? Doctor Hojo has personally requested to treat all wounded flown in from the ball. And yes, before you point it out, he is Palamecian, and a pureblooded Garlean."

Granny folded her hands in front of her, continuing to smile. "I wasn't going to say anything. My own conjury, I regret to say, has been useless in healing the boy."

"That unbearable man has been stealing all of my patients lately," Arecia said. She put her pipe to her lips again. "You're a conjurer? That makes you Gridanian, then?"

"Now who's the one pointing out nationalities?" Granny asked. "Though I am not originally from Gridania." Baithin wondered if it was a good idea to share that, but they had previously discussed it was better not to hide their origins – they couldn't hide their accents, but coming up with a story for why they were citizens of the Empire was easy.

"I've been there, once, when I fancied myself an adventurer," said Arecia. "Conjurers, particularly Hearers and the Padjal, are said to be closer to the planet than any others, correct? I can only wonder how that feels."

"I was a Hearer." Granny placed a hand on Edge's shoulder, trying to calm him. "Now, please. Can you bring us to this Doctor Hojo to get him help?"

She stared at Granny for a long time, but then nodded. "Right this way. We do not turn away any patients." Arecia led them down another white hall to a separate office, where they found a man doing paperwork. He looked up with irritation on his sallow, sunken face, but stood when he noticed Arecia. "Hojo. These three were at the Archduke's palace. They are also Eorzean, and this woman is a conjurer and Hearer, to boot. You find that sort of thing interesting, do you not?"

"Was a Hearer," said Granny, politely interrupting. "I can no longer Hear the elementals since my grandsons and I came to live in the Empire a few years ago." In truth, Baithin knew that she lost her ability as a result of the Calamity, but they didn't have to know that.

Edge continued writhing and moaning. "Ashe… Ashe…"

The other doctor, Hojo, stared at them down his long nose. He was the slightest Garlean Baithin had ever seen, small with a bony figure and wispy white hair flat against his head, though it was impossible to tell how old he was. "Eorzeans, eh? Your people have a unique biology, thanks to your aether-rich environment. I am glad for this opportunity to study one of your kind. Alive, anyway."

"Er, no studying," said Baithin. "Just a good healing, please." Hojo ignored him.

"I have business I need to attend to." Arecia placed her pipe against her lips again. "It was a pleasure. Good luck in your blitzball tournament." She left, barely glancing at Hojo as she did so.

Hojo took out some Magitek instruments and began using them to examine Edge. "The scanners read it as acute aether poisoning, though in much higher levels than it takes for a Garlean. There's a bit of something else there, as well. I will need to keep him overnight to administer treatments and ensure his health. You may leave him here."

"I'll stay," said Baithin. He didn't feel right leaving Edge all alone with these people. He was already missing the game tonight anyway, so he hoped to be able to play tomorrow for the semifinals instead.

Doctor Hojo sniffed. "If you must. But wait outside." 

Granny nodded. "I will go to the stadium to support Ndai and the others, then." She bowed to Hojo. "Please take good care of my grandsons for me!"

Hojo looked between Granny, Edge, and Baithin, a single eyebrow quirked. "Grandsons. Yes."

"Be careful," Baithin said to Granny. "And cheer extra loud for me at the game!"

She smiled. "Of course, dear."

Baithin sat on the floor outside of Hojo's office after Granny left, preparing for a long night of waiting. "I suppose I could take a look around Galbadia Garden," he said to himself. "I wonder if they have a training center. Or a library!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Short chapter. Arecia and Hojo were actually pretty late additions to this story.
> 
> I'd love some reviews and criticism! :)


	22. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azionne and Ndai head to the imperial palace in Garlemald, where they meet new and familiar faces and learn more about one of their traveling companions. Azionne once again sees Emmerololth, the Ascian, while struggling against the Voidsent that has latched onto her mind.

"So you're just going to sit in front of the imperial palace all day and wait? That sounds so boring!"

Azionne rolled her eyes as she traversed one of the narrow bridges across the city with Ndai. The sun had just begun to set, casting a hazy orange glow across the horizon and giving the black spires a metallic gleam. "No one asked you to come."

Ndai folded her hands behind her head. "Well, I know, but aren't markets a better place for gathering information? I wonder if Garlemald has a market board…"

"I was there yesterday." In truth, Azionne did not spend a long time there – Garlemald's shop fronts were all so different, lit up with all kinds of signs instead of people hawking their wares. Most of the shoppers were noblemen and women in clothes of red, black, and gold, cut with military precision and made out of materials Azionne didn't recognize, giving many a sleek, uniform look. She momentarily had found herself drawn to the more extravagant dresses of Palamecia, sold in many shops to only the most highborn of ladies – corsets and petticoats, mostly in black, which she found to be a peculiar curiosity more than anything.

_"You're distracting yourself. Maybe next time I'll have you burn the dresses! Hee hee!"_

Azionne clenched her jaw when she heard the Voidsent's voice echoing in her mind. "I did not stay long," she said to Ndai. "Their market sector is larger than you can imagine, but I learned nothing of value except that only pureblooded Garleans seem to live in this city."

"It'll be strange to see the palace," Ndai said. Azionne knew what she meant – for so long, Eorzea had been fighting the Garlean Empire, and here they were at the seat of their power. It had been a difficult journey, to be sure, but easier to get around than Azionne had expected. She supposed she had their silly blitzball game to thank.

"Why are you not with the rest of your team?" Azionne asked her.  _And why did you choose to join me today instead?_

"I got benched today," Ndai answered. "Though it is the semifinal match… Maybe I should be supporting them…"

Their path circled around one of the black spires, and Azionne paused a moment to see where they had to go next. An airship zoomed by them, close enough to disturb her hair and dress, and she wondered if she should have rented one for themselves.

_"Don't you remember the last time you rented an airship, silly? That foolish little Lalafell almost made you fall from the sky! You never punished him for that…"_

_Be silent,_ Azionne thought, clenching her fist. As the days went on, the passenger she picked up in the depths of the Black Shroud became more insistent, pervading more and more into her daily life. "I do not know why you still bother to play that game when we have more important things to do. We've succeeded in getting into Garlemald."

Ndai walked ahead of her, looking ahead at the palace. "We can't just leave the Vector Ghosts hanging now! They've helped us so much, and now they know our secret. If we drop out of the tournament, I don't know if we'd be able to stay in Garlemald, you know? It's probably easier this way until the tournament ends."

"Or Baithin and Edge can leave the team, and you can stay," Azionne said, glancing at her. "That way they would still have a full team."

Ndai turned to face Azionne, frowning. "Are you saying I should leave you guys? After all this?"

Azionne crossed her arms and looked away. "You have no personal stake in any of this, and you are neither a Riskbreaker nor a Gullwing. You are no warrior or great mage, nor an airship engineer like Gogonegi. You enjoy that blitzball game, do you not?"

_"Keep going. Lay it on her!"_

Ndai pointed an angry finger at Azionne. "You're being mean, you know! I thought I was one of you guys!"

 _Doesn't she see? She has no place in a war like this. She's but a child. I am being kind to her._ "No one says as much, but we are all thinking it."

Ndai's face reddened and she bared her teeth in anger, but harshly looked away, blinking furiously. "I'm helping because I like you all. I thought we were all friends."

Azionne continued walking. "You'd be safer with the Vector Ghosts," she said. "Happier."

_"I'm impressed. Saying it like that, it sounds like you care about her a little bit! Could she have penetrated that tight wall you have up? Or did the others do it for her, and she just snuck in? Hee hee! This is certainly interesting!"_

Azionne staggered, suddenly feeling dizzy. "Shut up! I've had enough of you, Venat!"

"Azionne!" Ndai called her name, and Azionne suddenly felt herself being grabbed and pulled to the floor, her face against the black walkway. "Be more careful! Are you okay?"

Azionne pushed herself to her knees, and then rose on shaky feet. "I do not know what came over me just now," she said. Ndai was on the ground next to her, and Azionne realized that she was the one who had pulled her to the floor.

Ndai frowned. "You almost fell off the bridge. Who were you talking to just now? You said a name."

"I said no such thing," Azionne said, brushing dirt off her dress. "Let us continue to the palace."

Ndai narrowed her eyes at her. "I'll let the others tell me how they feel themselves."

Azionne flicked her hand. "Suit yourself. And thank you, I suppose."

They continued walking through the maze of bridges and moving staircases – even occasional long stretches of moving floor panels – as the sun set and Magitek lights turned on of their own accord. The city's level of activity did not dwindle as night fell, and if anything became even livelier as shops and restaurants and brothels opened, and street performers crowded the platforms. On more than one occasion, Garleans stopped Azionne and Ndai as they walked, thinking they were attractions.

 _This is humiliating_ , Azionne thought.

_"Your legs ITCH to join them! Don't you want to have fun? Even fire dances, you know…"_

_I've already told you, Venat. Be silent._

Ndai paused shortly before they reached the imperial palace. "Oh! Look!" Azionne followed her gaze, noting a soft blue and white light shining into the night sky from behind one of the spires. A few small airships hovered above it, beams of light illuminating whatever was below them. "That's the blitz stadium! The game has begun!"

"Fascinating," said Azionne, deadpan.

"We're playing the Vector Behemoths tonight! If we beat them, we go to the finals tomorrow – against Garlemald's home team, the Glories!"

Azionne squinted ahead at the palace, noting a small crowd gathering in front of the gates. She quickened her pace, curious, as Ndai followed, crossing one last bridge to blend into the crowd of people. Many of them wore black suits with purple sashes, marking them as senators. Azionne drew up the hood of her cloak.

"This is an outrage!" said one man. "They cannot be leaving the palace before His Radiance has returned! They are directly disobeying him!"

A palace aide in a feathery hat appeared on the other side of the gate. "Please be calm. Legatus Terra xia Rozarria and Legatus Celes xia Lux will not be leaving any time soon."

"What's going on?" Ndai asked Azionne, her voice low. "Terra and Celes are here?"

"I'm trying to listen," said Azionne, shooting her an annoyed glance. "What do these people care if they leave the palace?"

"You're not from around here, are you?" Azionne turned her head, noticing a beautiful woman with dark brown skin and a striking blue headband, with spectacles resting on her narrow nose. She wore a slim white coat that fell to her knees and smoked a long pipe.

Ndai sheepishly smiled and scratched the back of her head. "What gave it away?"

"This blitzball tournament is attracting all sorts of foreigners, it seems," she said. "Though apparently the biggest news in Garlemald since the Emperor's coronation is who he will pick as his wife. As if that is the only interesting thing happening in the Empire… rebel attacks, the complete subjugation of Eorzea, treaties with the Far East, the creeping popularity of the Church of Yevon – hells, even new Magitek developments hold my interest more than gossip like this."

"Careful," said Azionne. The other woman, tall and slender but definitely Midlander, intrigued her for some reason. "You are speaking of the future of the Empire."

Ndai put her hand on her hip. "So Terra and Celes are potential future wives? Would that make them empresses?"

The stranger raised an eyebrow at Ndai. "Among many other candidates. Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Naya," she said. "Just a blitz player for the Ghosts! And this is Azi, one of our groupies!"

Azionne glared.

"I am Doctor Arecia al-Recia, a medic at Galbadia Garden," she said, smoking from her pipe. "I've come to visit Terra and Celes, actually. Perhaps I can talk them out of angering the masses. If you'll excuse me…"

Azionne didn't move. "Are they ill?"  _Well, this is something we can use to our advantage…_

"If they were, I would be unable to tell you so," said Arecia. "Patient confidentiality. Celes is a dear friend."

"Oh!" said Ndai. "You must be treating our friend Edge! How's he doing?"

"I am not," Arecia replied. "But from what I hear, he is doing exceptionally well."

Ndai smiled. "That's good to hear."

Arecia walked past Azionne and held up a card to the gates, which slid open to allow her into the palace grounds. Following the doctor's path with her eyes, Azionne almost did not notice the hooded man in a tattered black cloak stepping up next to her.

"Whoa!" Ndai exclaimed. "Where did you come from?"

Azionne recognized the face under the hood, and nodded when the man signaled her to step away from the crowd with him. Ndai trailed along, her steps cautious.

When they were a fair distance away, Azionne crossed her arms. "Well this is unexpected. I certainly never thought I'd see you again alive."

"The feeling is mutual," the man replied, his tone jovial. He did not change at all since she saw him last at Maluke Pass, except he had more of a beard and slightly longer hair.

"Who're you?" Ndai asked.

"A former legatus," Azionne answered for him. "Nero tol Scaeva."

Ndai jumped back and pointed her fans at him threateningly. "Wait, what?"

"Stand down," said Azionne. "This man is no threat to us, for now."

Ndai looked between the two of them. "How can you say that?"

"I've not yet made myself known in the city," said Nero, shrugging. "I was just on my way to plead my case to the Emperor, but it seems I've missed him."

Azionne stared at him. She began to wonder if she should have killed him in Maluke Pass after all. "And will that involve you revealing that we are in Garlemald?"

"Not unless it benefits me," he said, grinning. "Though I suppose it depends on what you're here for. You did let me go on my way in Maluke Pass, and I've not forgotten that." She let him go partially because he had saved them from a raging ice bear, but she decided not to mention that.

Venat rung in her ears.  _"I like this guy! Touched by the Void! I believe he spent quite a long time in the World of Darkness, yes yes!"_

Azionne rubbed her head. "You've been to the Void?" Even she had not been there – only gazed into it momentarily, which is when Venat gazed back.

Nero's easygoing façade vanished. "How do you know that?"

A disturbance in the crowd distracted them all, and Azionne looked at the palace when she saw several officials emerging from it in a hurry, followed after a pair of figures she recognized well – Terra and Celes.

"Lady Terra!" one of the senators called. "Could you tell us why you're leaving the palace before His Radiance has returned?"

" _Legatus_  xia Rozarria," Terra corrected him, barely glancing his way as she approached the gates. Azionne pulled her hood lower. "If the Emperor wants to marry me, he can come to my lab and say so."

"What kind of Legatus spends most of their time in the capital? Shouldn't you be on the war fronts?"

"Why did you leave command of your legion to the viceroy in Ala Mhigo?"

"Perhaps the Emperor has gone to fix  _your_  failures!"

Azionne spotted Doctor Arecia in the back of the other officials, leaning her elbow on her wrist as she smoked her pipe. "Oh, dear…" said Arecia.

"Legatus Terra did not fail anything," Celes said coldly. Beatrix and Leo flanked her, stone-faced. "Make way."

As the gates opened, a black portal bloomed behind Terra and Celes, alarming many of the people present. Azionne froze, feeling her blood pumping and her ears ringing, unable to shake the feeling of Emmerololth lingering in the back of her mind… Sure enough, the Elezen Ascian appeared out of the portal, wordlessly observing.

Venat giggled.  _"Ooh, I love this feeling! Smite that Ascian where she stands!"_

Ndai grabbed her arm. "Azi, stay calm. Don't do it!" she whispered harshly. "Not here, not now!"

_"Don't you remember how it felt? To not be in control of your body, your mind, your soul – only watching and listening and FEELING that immense power flooding into you? Didn't it feel nice? Terrible? Doesn't it make you want to KILL her?"_

"Azionne, please!"

_"Do it! Do it, now!"_

Someone else grabbed her and pinned her against the wall, pulling Azionne out of sight of the palace gates. The force shook Azionne out of her trance, and she stared down at the much shorter person who had pinned her, surprised to see one of the members of the Vector Ghosts blitzball team. She couldn't remember the girl's name, only that she helped them fight the Voidsent at the Archduke's ball.

"Are you a fool? They nearly saw you, and you would've been arrested on the spot!" she said, glaring at Azionne.

"Oh! Stella! What are you doing here?" Ndai asked, eyes wide. "Shouldn't you be playing?"

"Edge has already made a full recovery," said Stella, softening as she looked at Ndai. "He's better than ever, actually." She turned back to Azionne, anger rising to her face again. "I heard about your rampage in Ala Mhigo. Control yourself."

Azionne shook her off, eyes narrowed. "I'm fine. Get your hands off me."

Nero seemed amused. "Now who is this?"

"And what're you doing speaking to a former legatus?" Stella asked. "It's a wonder any of you managed to get to Garlemald at all."

"What's going on?" Ndai asked, ears low. "Stella, how'd you find us?"

"I followed you," the Red Mage admitted, stepping back.

Azionne stared at the unassuming blitzball player, suspicion rising. She had never given much thought to her before, and wondered how long they had been followed – and if she had done the same in the past. "Why?"

Nero cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose I'll be on my way since Terra and Celes are leaving the palace. Now's a good a chance as any to attempt to get my lab back. And as a gesture of good will, since you seem to hate the Ascians and dislike Terra as much as I do, I'll give you a little gift."

"Huh?" Ndai asked, scratching her head.

"I know little of their experiments, but Terra and Celes are fascinated by aether. Supposedly, they have been investigating the ruins of Bozja Citadel recently, which has the biggest concentration of aether outside of Eorzea thanks to the lunar crisis fifteen years ago – the Lunar Cry."

Ndai looked to Azionne and Stella, scratching her head again. "Huh?"

"The beam that fell from Dalamud thanks to Midas nan Garlond's experiments," said Stella, narrowing her eyes. "Destroying the city. Why should I trust you with that information? How will it even help me?"

He gestured to Azionne. "You've been tracking Terra and Celes, have they not?" He lowered his hood, revealing his third eye for all to see. "I am not asking you to trust me. To be blunt, I do not care in the least."

"Technically, my letting you go in Maluke Pass was repayment for saving us," said Azionne, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "Now return to your masters."

Nero chuckled as he turned away. "You didn't know? I am my own master."

When he was gone behind the palace gates, Azionne turned to Stella. "I do not like being followed."

Ndai frowned. "Yeah, Stella, if you wanted to come you could've just asked."

"Something tells me you're not just a blitzball player," said Azionne. "Who are you?"

Stella crossed her arms and leaned back against the palace wall. "I'm not sure I can trust you now, seeing as you're mates with a disgraced legatus."

Ndai waved her hands. "I never met him! He came up to us!"

"Don't be foolish, now," said Azionne. Her head throbbed – she felt Venat's presence scratching at the back of her mind much more than usual today. "You've already blown your cover. You may as well say."

Stella lowered her eyes, a hint of a smile on her face. "I joined the Vector Ghosts for the same reason you did – to get into Garlemald. I'm trying to find the location of their legendary prison, the Via Purifico, and infiltrate it. I can't risk you attacking the palace and ruining my chances."

"Huh? Why?" Ndai asked.

"They have some of our people," she responded. "I'm a member of the Returners."

Azionne nodded, not particularly fazed by the information. "I met several Returners with Moss and Styrmyrgan before we regrouped in Bevelle."

"So I've heard," Stella said. "They'd like to meet you again."

"We'll see."

"Oh, Azionne!" Ndai clapped her hands together. "The Via Purifico must be where Amalia is. Stella, we'll help you. We want to save our friend, too."

"She is the leader of the resistance in Ala Mhigo," said Azionne.

Stella put a hand on her hip. "Interesting. A joint effort between the Returners, the Resistance, and the Riskbreakers. I'd like to see where this goes."

Ndai grinned. "Yeah! And don't forget the Gullwings!"

Azionne began walking away from the palace. "I think I've had enough here. It is time to tell the others what we have learned."

Ndai almost skipped along next to her. "This is exciting! We're making progress! And maybe we can catch the end of the game!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Once I heard Stella nox Fleurette had been cut from FFXV, I just HAD to give her a bigger role in this.
> 
> So yeah, we finally learned the name of the Voidsent that hitched a ride on Azionne's mind! FF12 reference, woo. Final boss count mention so far in this fic: Mateus, Sin, Necron, Venat. Can I come up with any original ideas??


	23. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the final match of the blitzball tournament here, Granny Moss goes to watch the game alone - but certain encounters in the stands risk changing her fate forever.

The sun shone bright on the day of the Galvus Cup final match.

Moss had to go to the blitzball stadium by herself, since Aurelius had wanted the whole team together in the morning in case any of their opponents tried to sabotage them. In the capital city, the Vector Ghosts had few fans – most would be cheering for the Garlemald Glories, though with the defeat of the Vector Behemoths several Vector citizens started cheering for the Ghosts instead, hoping at least one of their home teams could bring home the cup. Playing against the Behemoths had been their hardest match yet (Moss followed all of their games, dutifully supporting them even before they reunited in Bevelle), as they tended to play dirty, but Edge recovered from the Ascian attack well, apparently, and blocked all their attempts to get at the goal.

With Baithin, Edge, Ndai, and the others meeting at the stadium hours before the game, Moss had no one to accompany her to her special box seating in the stands. Azionne, as always, thought blitzball was a waste of time, so she bullied Styrm and Gogo into searching for the Via Purifico with her. If they succeeded, they planned to bring Stella along and rescue Amalia and the other Returner prisoners.

The enormous stadium was loud with the cheers of Garlemald supporters, with everyone crowding together and adding to the noise with horns and music blaring from an unseen source. A large screen, like the ones throughout the city, gave her an up-close view of the sphere pool and occasionally a look into the crowds. The cameras, as she had learned they were called, scanned the highest box in the stands, giving the spectators a view of the most important people in the stadium, aside from the blitz players themselves. Faces of dignitaries and senators went across the screen, but Moss nearly collided into the person in front of her when she recognized one of the people up there.

Celes sat in the top box, seated calmly while Beatrix and Leo stood next to her. She glanced at the camera, and Moss almost instinctively ducked before she remembered she couldn't see her. Instead, she hurried to her seat, which was located in the box a short distance away from Celes', thankful for the shelter and relative quietness from outside. She shared it with a few nobles and other distinguished guests, many of whom gave her distasteful or questioning glances as she sat inside with them, but she ignored them and stared at the top box instead.

Her mind raced. What was Celes doing here? Did she just like blitzball, or did she know something? What were the odds? Would she recognize Baithin, Edge, and Ndai from the parade in Ala Mhigo?

"What are you doing here?" one of the noblemen asked her, pulling her from her thoughts. "You shouldn't be allowed to sit here."

Moss gave him a warm smile. "Not all of us bought these seats with an absurd amount of money, dear. I am a special guest of Captain Aurelius. Those are my grandchildren playing down there."

The man huffed and sat down, leaving seats on both sides of her empty. She smiled to herself and leaned her staff against one, watching the blitz players enter the sphere pool on the big screen. It was too late to warn them about Celes. She glanced at the top box, where she could see Celes' head of bright blonde hair. She had not moved, and did not give any indication that she recognized them. Moss figured that if she did something to draw attention to herself or the others that would only make things worse so, for now, she decided to sit back and watch the game and Celes.

The blitzball launched from the center of the sphere pool, caught immediately by the Glories forward player. She weathered tackles from Baithin and Stella and darted through the Ghosts' defensive line, swam past both Aurelius and had her teammate flanking her to block the other defender. It looked like she had a clear shot to the goal, where Ndai sat waiting, but Edge appeared from underneath her, swimming faster than she had ever seen him go. He succeeded in grabbing the ball from her hands and was immediately tackled by two Glories, but he shook them off and swam away from the goal, outpacing all of the Glories behind him.

 _"Would you look at that, folks! This game's already off to a strong start!"_ the announcer blared.

 _"That guy was never known for his speed before! Look at him go!"_ said the second announcer.

 _"Word is that he just finished recovering from an injury he sustained at the incident in Bevelle. Guess they don't make 'em like that here!"_ said the first.

Moss clenched her staff, worried about the announcers drawing attention to Edge, especially as a foreigner. Thankfully, he apparently swam too fast for the cameras to capture him accurately, so they did not get any close-ups of his face on the big screen.

Did he swim so fast to make up for having to sit out a game? Or was Garlean medicine that much more advanced than Eorzean potions and magic? Or was Doctor Hojo simply good at what he did?

After taking the ball out from behind the Ghosts' defensive line, Edge threw the ball to Stella, who passed it to Baithin, who passed it to Aurelius. With both Baithin and Stella at his side, the Ghosts' captain penetrated the Glories' defensive line, shooting at the goal, but their goalie blocked it.

Following that, the ball kept going back and forth between the two sides with neither of them scoring a goal. The Glories had a powerful offense, repeatedly taking the ball, but in turn the Ghosts had an equally strong defense, mostly bolstered by Edge, who seemed all over the defensive line. In fact, he played so well that Ndai looked like she was getting bored in the goal, swimming back and forth without any real urgency or tension.

The game paused right before halftime when Aurelius was tackled by several Glories all at once. Moss gasped and put her hands over her mouth when he became prone in the sphere pool. Baithin and Edge swam to his side, dragging him to dry land.

_"Ouch! That one looked like it hurt, folks!"_

_"The referees say the Ghosts captain is injured! Not looking good for the challenging team!"_

Halftime started after that, with costumed swimmers dancing in the sphere pool to entertain everyone while the players recuperated. Their costumes were long and flowing, with many colors that made them resemble tropical fish around the waters of La Noscea or deep within the jungles of Thavnair. Moss watched them for a moment, wishing she would be allowed to the Ghosts' locker room in order to warn Baithin, Edge, and Ndai that Celes was present at the game. She glanced up at the legatus, who continued to sit in her box.

If she had not acted yet, there was a good chance that she did not recognize them.

_Elementals, please keep them safe. That is my only wish._

The dancers swam away and the game resumed just a few minutes later. Aurelius sat out for the second half, giving his position to Aiswyb. Both teams, if possible, played even harder, barely giving their opponents time with the ball before they blocked, intercepted, or tackled it out of the other team's hands. Every time the ball switched sides, the crowd rose up in cheers and jeers.

A woman walked by in front of Moss' box, a tattered brown shawl wrapped around her shoulders. She looked starkly out of place next to the Garleans, with faded slacks and a wrapped bow and quiver strapped to her back. Her hood was down, letting her dark dreadlocks flow freely around her shoulders. Shorter than everyone else, the Midlander strode right past Moss' box, pushing through the crowd with her eyes on the sphere pool.

With a start, Moss recognized the woman.

"Now that's a face I haven't seen in years," she said, eyes wide. Her first thought was disbelief – what would she be doing in the center of the Garlean Empire? She had no doubts about who it was.

Her name was Sylvia Alberona, her former daughter-in-law and ex-wife of Moss' younger daughter, Turnip.

She was about to stand and approach Sylvia when General Beatrix appeared in her box. The Ala Mhigan walked directly in front of Moss, her hands folded behind her back.

"Leave. All of you." The other spectators in the box with Moss hesitated, but Beatrix put a hand on her sword. "Right now." She fixed Moss with a stare, as if to say,  _You are not going anywhere._

Several uniformed soldiers filed into the box, blocking her view of the sphere pool outside and pushing everyone else out. Moss leaned for her staff, but Beatrix kicked it out of the way, sending it clattering to the floor.

The old Roegadyn put on a friendly smile, but mentally noted her potential escape routes. If she could get outside and cause enough of a scene, the others could flee. Perhaps even Sylvia could help… "General Beatrix. I am glad to see you survived the attack in Bevelle."

Someone sat down next in the empty seat to her left, and Moss did not even have to look to see who it was.

Celes folded her legs, speaking calmly. "If you try anything, I have soldiers waiting to empty the sphere pool and arrest all of your comrades. They are authorized to use lethal force if necessary."

"I am flattered that you've remembered me," said Moss. "It has been weeks since Ala Mhigo, has it not?"

"I have not forgotten the attempt on Terra's life," Celes responded. "Though I must say, I was not aware the Ala Mhigan Resistance recruited old women."

"I prefer the term 'experienced,'" Moss replied. "But I was never a member of the Resistance. The seven of us were acting independently, under no orders but our own."

"And you've managed to make it all the way to Garlemald," she said. "I am impressed."

Moss looked behind her when she heard heavy steps coming into the box, spotting Leo flanking the back while Beatrix stood in the front. With all of the soldiers around filling the gaps, there weren't any openings. "Thank you, but this is quite a lot of fuss for little old me. Are you threatened by me, Celes?"

"I must take no chances with someone of your level of  _experience_ ," Celes responded. "And the Hearers and conjurers of Gridania are known for their unusual abilities. I have prepared for every circumstance."

Moss' eyes widened. "How did you…?" She thought back to whom she may have told about being an ex-Hearer, and then remembered an instance from just two days before. "Ah. Doctor Arecia. An informant, I suppose? Though she must have mentioned that I am no longer a Hearer."

"She is a friend," said Celes. "Perhaps you should have been wiser with whom you shared secrets about your identity."

"She is a healer, and I trusted her confidentiality," Moss replied. "I heal anyone regardless of their allegiance or nationality."

"So does she," said Celes, leaning back. "And she healed your friend. But she also knew I was looking for someone with close ties to the planet, and to magic, and Hearers are said to be most in tune to that connection. The only better candidate than you would be a Padjal, but I have never met one."

Moss looked at her fully. The legatus stared outside of the box, transfixed by the sphere pool. "A candidate for what? And I have already told you. I am no longer a Hearer. I have not been able to Hear their voices since Nael van Darnus called down Dalamud."

"You may be deaf to them, but a Hearer never loses their connection." Celes crossed her arms. "Someone with your gift – your connection to nature, the planet, and Hydaelyn herself – can be used to open Lunatic Pandora. The gift is part of you."

Moss smoothed her long skirt. "Why would I? Perhaps you are confusing my gift with the Echo…"

Celes turned to her. "That sorcery is even rarer. We are unable to get our hands on the Warriors of Light, and the Scions of the Seventh Dawn did a good job rounding up everyone with that particular gift. No, you will do just fine."

"Opening the Lunatic Pandora could have unforeseen consequences," said Moss. She had no idea what could happen, and the thought scared her. "The gods kept it protected beneath Silvertear Falls and the Elder Wyrm's watch for a reason. If opening it for only a moment released as much aether as it did…"

"Then opening it fully will spread aether to the rest of the world," said Celes, spreading her hands. "We've always had magic like you Eorzeans, but no one ever wielded it with your level of power and skill. Only the Meracydians have any hope of comparing to you, but it will be that way no longer. And with Para-Magic, we Garleans can wield it. The Lunatic Pandora will make the world as it was in the Age of the Gods. It will bring balance."

"Beast tribes the world over will summon their Primals," said Moss, her eyes narrowed. "It will restore magic to Eorzea, making the war bloodier than ever before. It will strengthen monsters, and religions will summon their gods to combat them and the Primals. All it will achieve is chaos." The Age of the Gods ended millennia ago – people were not meant to live the way they had.

"Our power will be on top," said Celes. "We will use it to ensure peace."

Outside, the crowd erupted into angry shouts and stomps, a cacophony that made the seats rumble.

"Did someone score?" Moss asked, her tone light.

Celes glanced ahead, scowling. "Seven hells. Your team did."

"Who made it?"

"The blond man. That Midlander Red Mage who fought with you in Ala Mhigo."

"Oh, that would be Baithin," said Moss, clasping her hands together. "How wonderful. You know, I was quite shocked to learn that you are a fan of blitzball. We did not think you would find us this way."

Celes sat back. "Of course. I've followed the Garlemald Glories since I was a child. Terra has no taste for it, however." She looked to Moss again. "Your willing participation in the ritual would be beneficial to us."

"If I go with you, do I have your word that you will leave those children alone?" Moss fixed her with a stare, keeping her own face unreadable. As long as she could get the others out of danger now, she could worry about herself later. An opportunity would present itself – she just had to wait and listen for it.

Celes nodded. "If the Glories do not score, the Ghosts will win the tournament. I will allow them to celebrate and stay in Garlemald in peace, so long as they do not attack Terra or myself."

Moss stood and held out her wrists. "Then let's go. Do not bind me too tight, now. I do not like the chafing."

Celes stood with her as Beatrix wordlessly bound her. "You are a wise woman, Whispering Moss."

Moss held her head up high. "Please, call me Granny. Everyone else does."

Outside of the box, Moss looked around at all of the Garleans who stared at her as Celes' soldiers escorted her out of the stadium. She walked by Sylvia Alberona, who was seated and watching the game, and saw recognition flash through her eyes.

Moss nodded to her and kept on walking out of the stadium.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: I had been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while, but for some reason I'm not very happy with it. Meh.


	24. The Heart of the Empire, Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After learning that Granny had been taken by Celes, Edge and the others head to Bozja Citadel - with Sylvia in tow - to rescue her, and to stop Terra and Celes once and for all.

Edge couldn't remember the last time he felt this good.

The Vector Ghosts met with crowds of people the moment they left their locker room, everyone cheering their names and clamoring for their autographs or to shake their hands. Aurelius, favoring his shoulder from the injury he sustained, looked like he was about to cry with joy after accepting the Galvus Cup, which resembled the armored form of the old emperor holding a massive goblet up high.

Baithin, who had scored the Ghosts' only goal, was the star of the show. He was at the center of the crowd – everyone wanted to touch him, to congratulate him, even hug him. Aiswyb and another Roegadyn on the team lifted him up onto their shoulders. There were so many people that Edge struggled to move through the crowd. Finally, down the packed hallway, he spotted Styrm standing with Gogo on his shoulders and Azionne at his side. The blitzball fans game his armored form a wide berth. Edge made his way over to them.

He liked crowds, but right now he just wanted to celebrate with his friends.

Ndai and Stella followed him, taking advantage of the path Edge made through the crowd. As Edge walked to Styrm, someone in the crowd grabbed his wrist.

The grip was tight, but not painful. He looked to who grabbed him, eyes widening when he recognized the Midlander woman in a tattered brown shawl and dreadlocks tied back. His face broke into a grin. "Hey, Sylvia! Drinks on me today!"

Sylvia rolled her eyes, releasing his wrist. "Really, Edge? Now?"

Edge stopped, realizing where they were. "Wait… What are you doing here?" On the rare occasion when he had time to visit Limsa Lominsa and he stopped at the Drowning Wench, she was always there to drink with. She was almost a decade older than him, pretty, and a fun drinking mate.

"Whoa!" Ndai exclaimed, drawing back from Sylvia. "Did you come all the way here to arrest me for the Wood Wailers? You take your job  _way_  too seriously! I haven't seen you in years, lady!"

"I'm not here on account o' the Wood Wailers," Sylvia snapped to her. "Haven't worked with 'em since I moved to Limsa years ago."

"Wait, you two know each other?" Edge asked. "What's going on?"

Azionne pushed through the crowd. "Stella, we've found the approximate location of the Via Purifico, we will just need to…" She trailed off when her eyes fell on Sylvia. "How…?" Edge did not think he had ever seen Azionne rendered speechless like that.

"Azionne," said Sylvia, straightening. "It's… good to see ye."

Styrm followed right behind Azionne. "Auntie Sylv? What are you doing in Garlemald?"

Gogo gaped. "You all know Sylvia too?"

Sylvia crossed her arms. "Aye, but there's more important things to discuss right now. Get Baithin. We'll move to someplace a bit quieter."

"Where's Gran?" Styrm asked, but Sylvia's face was solemn.

* * *

 

With difficulty, they managed to pull Baithin from the reverie and gather together in the Ghosts' locker room. Edge was touched when the whole team came to join them instead of continue celebrating, sensing the serious atmosphere.

"How'd you find us?" Baithin asked Sylvia. He turned to Edge. "I can't believe this. I met Sylvia when I first left Sharlayan as a green adventurer. She taught me everything I know about the rest of Eorzea. That's why I took on the name Alberona, instead of my birth name."

Styrm scratched his head. "I never put it together," he said. Edge had never known Sylvia's surname. Apparently, she was once married to Styrm's aunt as well.

"What are the odds of you all knowing her independently?" Aiswyb asked.

"Forget all that now," Sylvia said. "Moss is in trouble. I saw her arrested by Celes and a bunch o' other soldiers. Dunnae where they took her."

"Perhaps the Via Purifico?" Stella asked, curling her hand under her chin. "At least we know where it is now."

"If she was just going to put Granny in prison, why wouldn't she have arrested all of us?" Aurelius asked. "Or stop the game?"

"She must have had a specific purpose in mind for her," said Azionne, pacing near the lockers. "And I like the idea of that even less."

Gogo tapped his lips. "Then where could they have gone?"

Ndai's tail stood out straight. "Oh! Nero told us how Celes and Terra have been doing experiments at that place! Um… What's it called?"

Azionne stopped. "Bozja Citadel."

"What could they want there?" Aurelius asked. "The Lunar Cry decimated that city years ago."

"What is that, anyway?" Edge asked. He had never heard of it.

"Bozja Citadel was once the academic center of the empire," Stella explained. "Midas nan Garlond, working on the Meteor Project, attempted to call down Dalamud, but a beam of energy from the moon fired at the city and destroyed it instantly."

"Now it's in ruins," said Aurelius. "But it also has the highest concentration of aether on this continent as a result of that. Only researchers really go there anymore."

"They're going to use that aether to help them open the Lunatic Pandora," Baithin said, standing in the center of the room. "I'm sure of it."

"And for some reason, they must need Gran," said Styrm. "We have to rescue her!"

"I'll help," said Sylvia, clenching her fist. "I take it you all have an airship? I've had to leave me poor bird behind…"

Edge clenched his fist. "Let's go! We have no time to waste!"

"We'll stay in the city," said Stella, nodding to Aurelius. "It'd look suspicious if the entire team left at once."

Baithin nodded to them, slapping Aurelius' hand. "Stay safe."

"You don't need to tell us that," Aurelius replied. "Go save Granny. She's our honorary team grandmother!"

* * *

 

They flew south to the ruins of Bozja Citadel less than one bell later. While they were in the air, Edge sat with Sylvia in the bridge, catching up with his old drinking buddy while they made their plan for rescuing Granny. Azionne was the only one who waited on the deck outside.

"I went to the Gullwings to find lil' Gogonegi," Sylvia said. "But they told me Baithin was with 'im, too, and me contacts in the Mhigan Resistance told me ye were all together and headin' to Garlemald. Once I hit Empire lands, blitzball led me to ye."

"You have contacts in the Resistance?" Baithin asked from the helm.

Sylvia nodded. "Worked with 'em when I first fled from the Empire."

"Huh?" Edge asked. "You're from the Empire?"

"Nozarrian born and raised," Sylvia said. "Where'd ye think the name Alberona was from?"

Baithin stuck out his tongue. "You mean I've been using a Garlean name all this time?"

"The Resistance helped me out, then I moved to Gridania and learned how to hunt, which was where I met yer auntie, Styrm, but ye know how things ended there," Sylvia said, leaning back.

Ndai frowned. "Yeah! Back then you tried to help the Wood Wailers catch me! I was just a kit!"

"Ye were a little rascal!" Sylvia exclaimed. "'Course I did. Was doin' me civic duty to Gridania. Anyway, after things didn't work out, I moved to Limsa, where I met the rest o' ye. Well, 'cept Azionne. Met here while I was out on business in Coerthas. Thank the Twelve I did, or she'd be dead."

"You saved Lady Azionne's life?" Styrm asked, eyes wide.

"That is quite enough of that," said Azionne, striding into the room suddenly.  Edge suspected she had been waiting right outside.  "Bozja should be close. We must be prepared for any eventuality."

"Wait," said Edge. He looked at Sylvia. "Why'd you follow us all the way out here in the first place?"

The older woman sighed and looked into the distance. "Not sure if ye'd believe me."

"I'd believe you," said Gogo, clasping his hands together. "You were there for me when no one else was, until I met the Gullwings. You took me in when my parents kicked me out. I owe you everything."

Sylvia smiled at him and crossed her legs. "Well, then. It was naught but a dream. I saw the seven of ye bathed in the Mothercrystal's light, and I was watching over ye as ye faced a dark crystal.  Made me think I had to protect all ye from something."

"Dark crystal?" Ndai asked.

Edge frowned. "That doesn't sound good."

"Never knew you for one to believe in something as whimsical as that," Azionne said, scoffing.

Sylvia crossed her arms. "Hydaelyn's been givin' me dreams for years now, in truth. Can't make heads or tails of most of 'em. But this one was clear, and no coincidence that it involved all of ye."

Edge stared down at his hands. It seemed that all of them met Sylvia long before any of them joined the Riskbreakers or the Gullwings, and now she was seeing them in her dreams. What could that mean? Did Hydaelyn have a plan for them? Has She guided his fists all this time without him knowing? He didn't know how to feel about the thought.

The silence stretched on until Azionne broke it. "Land the airship outside the ruins. We do not want Terra and Celes to hear us coming."

"Let us just hope they are here," Styrm said, frowning, as the airship began to descend.

* * *

 

When they landed near Bozja, Edge felt like they were back at home.

It wasn't the dreary ruins of the towering citadel, surrounded by the husk of a town, that made him think of home. Nor was it the gloomy weather that pervaded through the ruined buildings, or even the crystal lances that pierced the ground and glowed an otherworldly purple. It was the air, or rather the smell of the air, that made Edge think of Eorzea. It was charged with magic, that electrifying scent of the dust after a storm mixed with firework powder.

The seven of them crept up a high ledge that overlooked the former town, which was settled into a wide basin in the middle of the Nozarria Wastelands. Edge's eyes followed the scores of mirrorknights, beasts he recognized from certain parts of home, which crept through the cobbled streets. Other monsters, strange ones he had never seen that looked like humanoid hulking crystals, also infested the town.

"What are those?" Ndai asked, pointing to one such mirrorknight. "They're creepy."

"They are said to be monsters from the moon," Baithin informed her. "We have them at home, too. They only began appearing after the Calamity."

"These must have appeared after the Lunar Cry," said Edge. Something about their silence unnerved him.

Baithin pointed to the southwestern side of the town. Edge saw black towers and searchlights protected behind high walls. "What's that?"

"Castrum Astralitas," said Azionne. "Though not a proper castrum any longer. It is more of a research facility."

"Oh!" said Styrm, nodding to Azionne. "We heard about that while we were with the Returners."

She nodded. "Perhaps we can use it to cause a disturbance and distract Terra and Celes."

Edge squinted as he looked over the town. "There are no soldiers patrolling the city or anything," he said, feeling suspicious. "If they were here, why wouldn't they get someone protecting them while they start their ritual?"

Baithin scratched his chin. "Good point. Edge, Ndai, what if you two went down there to make sure Terra and Celes are here? The rest of us will make our way to the castrum, but we won't do anything until you signal us that you found them."

Ndai's tail twitched. "I don't mind sneaking around!"

Baithin drew his rapier. "Well, then. It's not much of a plan, but who knows how much time we have?"

"A rapier?" Sylvia said to him, blanching. "What happened to yer bow I made ye?"

Baithin shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "I lost it, but I make a halfway decent Red Mage, you know!"

"Look!" Gogo exclaimed, pointing down below. "I just saw a Voidsent!" They all realized the implication of his words – Voidsent could typically appear anywhere there was aether, but it could also indicate the presence of an Ascian.

"Let's get going, Ndai," Edge said to the Miqo'te, who nodded back at him. "We've no time to waste."

"Sneaking around?" A deep voice behind them rumbled, and Edge spun to the source. The hooded figure was Hyuran in shape, but his voice unmistakably belonged to Deudalaphon. "I'm  _tired_  of you all doing that."

The Ascian raised a hand up into the air, gathering a swirl of shadows in his palm, which he hurled at them. The magic impacted against the stone ground in front of them, shattering it and sending them all flying back, tumbling down the hill toward the city. Edge was the first to stop his fall, stumbling to his feet, but the moment he stood, a black shape swooped toward him, and before he knew it he had been lifted off of the ground.

The city sped by underneath him, and it took him a second to realize that all the others had been lifted in the same manner by enormous Voidsent creatures with black wings flapping. Despite his height, Edge shook himself free of the Voidsent, dropping to the street blow. He broke his fall by kicking off the side of a ruined building and rolling. Soon after, he saw the rest of the flying monsters drop his friends, but they had been scattered.

Deudalaphon flew behind them, dropping dark bombs and shadow flares onto the city, his rage evident even from Edge's distance. "You've defeated me once!" the Ascian roared. "You will never touch me again!"

Edge heard gunshots, but Deudalaphon blocked them all. Figuring Gogo to be the source, Edge ran to the Lalafell, assuming he would need protection the most. Before Deudalaphon could retaliate against the little machinist, he had to dodge multiple arrows fired at him, courtesy of Sylvia who danced across the rooftops. She leapt high and fast, dodging Deudalaphon's spells and performing acrobatics Edge had never seen from an archer.

The former city of Bozja was mostly round, with the citadel situated in the center. As such, all the cobbled roads led to it. Edge crossed through the side streets, wanting to get to Gogo – to find at least one of his friends – so that he wouldn't be alone. One of the flying Voidsent made a dive for him again, but this time Edge sidestepped it and pounded it in the head with his fist, making it dissipate into shadow.

The sound of more gunshots led him to Gogo, who was trying to fight off one of the hulking humanoid creatures. Crystals spiked from its shoulders as it swung its fleshy, misshapen arm at Gogo, but the Lalafell dodged. When he fired more bullets at it, it let out an otherworldly howl, but Edge silenced it with a knee to the face. It fell back, motionless, until an unseen force lifted it back onto its feet just a moment later. Something about its face, twisted in anguish and buried under crystal, seemed vaguely Hyuran…

"What is this thing?" Gogo asked, quivering. "A moon monster?"

"I don't know!" Edge replied, falling into a stance. Before the monster could attack again, a sword burst through its chest and it fell forward, revealing Styrm behind it. Azionne's unconscious form hung over his shoulder.

"I saw Baithin and Ndai just now, back there!" the Roegadyn said, panting. "They're heading to the citadel with Sylvia and Deudalaphon right behind them!"

That was all Edge and Gogo needed to hear. They turned around and ran, the citadel's broken towers looming before them, as they dodged mirrorknights' gusts and screeching Voidsent. The remains of a stained glass window depicting the former emperor yawned open at them, and through it, Edge could see a distant light. They were getting closer.

Another shadow portal bloomed atop one of the citadel's towers, spitting out Emmerololth. Even from her great distance away, Edge heard her voice ringing out throughout the city.

"You will not interrupt this ritual!" she cried. " _Dark Blizzard_!"

A snowstorm swept through the city, instantly coating the streets in frost and exposing them to biting cold. Edge covered his face from the onslaught of ice and wind, trying not to be blinded by the snow, which allowed him to avoid the next attack directed at him.

" _Para-Blizzara_!" Celes leapt at him, her runic blade pointed his way. Ice swirled around him and suddenly spiked from the ground, but he rolled out of the way. Before he could get back to his feet, she lunged toward him, but Styrm blocked her blow with his own sword. Azionne lay in a snow bank at his feet.

"Try to wake Lady Azionne!" Styrm said, swinging his blade against Celes'.

The Garlean woman smiled. "You hope to defeat me in a contest of swordplay? So be it."

"She can use Para-Magic now, too?" Edge asked, eyes wide as he moved to Azionne's side. He tried shaking her awake, but in her thin dress she was not prepared for the sudden cold. Her skin felt like ice.

Gogo fired gunshots at Celes, even as close as she stood to Styrm. The legatus leapt back, her sword folding into a gun, and returned the attack back at him, but Styrm got in the way with his shield. The Roegadyn pressed his attack, throwing everything into his sword skills, but Celes parried every blow.

" _Para-Aerora_!" she cried, casting a blast of wind to knock back Styrm and Gogo together. Before he fell, Edge saw Gogo toss something on the ground near Celes.

Ndai suddenly skittered past him on the ice, scrambling for her fans. "Thal's balls, Celes is here too? We're dealing with Leo one street over!"

"Ndai!" Edge exclaimed. "Thank the gods. Azionne needs help!"

"Go ahead, heal her," said Celes, grinning tauntingly. "Her magic is useless against my blade."

Ndai danced, and Edge launched himself into battle. He ducked underneath Celes' sword swipe, rolling within her range, and leapt upward with an uppercut directly under her chin. The blow knocked her back, but Celes managed to stay on her feet. Blood fell from her lips, and she wiped her mouth, glaring at him. "Magic may be useless, but a good old punch to the face never served me wrong!" Edge said, grinning. He had hoped he would at least break her jaw, but Para-Magic augmentation seemed to make her more resilient than normal people. And he had even been feeling stronger than usual the past few days...

Behind him, Azionne stood. "I've had quite enough of this cold already," she said. She pointed at Celes. "Let's finish her. Boys, get rid of that damned sword."

Now outnumbered five to one, Celes did the wise thing and ran toward the citadel. However, the moment she moved, the ground exploded beneath her, sending her soaring. When the smoke and rubble cleared, they saw Celes on the ground, her armor chipped and blackened. She writhed on the ground, groaning, her runic blade just inches from her. Edge made a dive for it, but Deudalaphon appeared in front of them.

"Come to the citadel," he said. "We will make our stand there." Just as quickly as he appeared, the Ascian vanished along with Celes.

The five of them looked at each other, completely winded. Ndai stroked her tail nervously. "How can we beat all of them together?"

"I'm not sure," said Edge. "Maybe if we had more of those land mines, Gogo! That was amazing!"

The Lalafell blushed. "Let's just find Baithin and Sylvia. And save Granny!"

"And get the Lunatic Pandora back once and for all," said Styrm. "So we can go home. Together."

They heard movement to their left, and they all turned to see Baithin and Sylvia emerging from one of the side alleyways, arm in arm. Both of them had seen better days.

"Never thought I'd see an Ascian and live to tell the tale," said Sylvia. Ndai started dancing again to heal them all, and they continued on their way.

"They never needed soldiers to guard them," said Baithin, once they were at the front of the ruined citadel. "All these Voidsent and moon monsters did the trick."

The inside of the citadel was like an enormous cathedral, with a cavernous ceiling and high arches, though the inside was mostly bare. A grand staircase took up the center, and Edge realized this was only the cathedral's entrance hall. Terra, Celes, the Ascians, Beatrix, and Leo stood at the top of the stairs, all of them surrounding Granny with the long, black box that was the Lunatic Pandora in front of her. The old Roegadyn's face lit up in simultaneous joy and worry when she saw them.

"So it comes down to this," said Terra, striding down the stairs toward them. She looked almost the same as the last time they saw her, with her cape streaming behind her and her light blonde hair partially pinned up. "I never thought that ragtag bunch of Resistance members in Ala Mhigo would face me all the way here."

"Forget pleasantries," said Azionne. " _Thunder!"_

Terra smirked. "I like that," she said, as the orb of lightning arched toward her. Celes, still hurt from their earlier battle, held up her blade to absorb Azionne's spell. " _Para-Firaga_!" Terra cried.

A conflagration of red-hot flames burst in the center of the group, causing them to scatter to avoid it. Sylvia and Gogo were the first to strike back, firing arrows and bullets at the pair, respectively. In response, Beatrix leapt down the stone staircase, sword raised.

"Doublecast," she said. She swiped Save the Queen at Edge first. " _Shock_!"

This time, Edge knew to dodge, and for some reason the Ala Mhigan general seemed slower. The last time he was wounded by that, Deudalaphon had infected him with something to make the wound even worse, but Doctor Hojo of Garlemald managed to heal it without any ill effects. In fact, after his treatment, Edge felt even stronger and faster. The lightning-imbued blade swept past him harmlessly. "You'll have to do better than that!" he taunted.

Beatrix stared at him, her sword glowing with white light. " _Excalibur_." Aspected to light, the holy blade nearly blinded him, and it would have struck him if not for Ndai's timely kick to Beatrix's face. The light blow diverted her spell just enough to miss Edge again, the holy magic exploding behind him. He leapt toward her, cesti raised, but Beatrix plunged her sword into the ground. "Magic burst –  _Grand Cross_!"

With her blade at the center, streams of light burst from the ground in four directions. The blast tore up the ground and the light inundated them, somehow burning him without searing his skin. He yelled in pain and crumpled to the ground. Ndai shouted in alarm and attacked Beatrix before she could finish off Edge, her daggers raised, but the general ducked underneath her twin strikes and smacked her with the hilt of her blade.

" _Enwater_!" Baithin called, imbuing his rapier with water-aspected energy just in time to clash with Leo, whose mighty strikes nearly made him buckle. Azionne stood behind him, offering what magical support she could without harming Baithin. "Snap out of it, Leo! Take off that stupid Slave Crown!"

Gogo fired bullets at Beatrix, distracting her from Ndai. With Gogo providing adequate support, Edge made his way to the stairs, trying to reach Granny. If they could free her from whatever unseen force the Ascians held her under, her magical prowess could give them a chance at defeating the combined might of the two legati and two generals. Edge passed by Styrm and Terra, locked in combat while Sylvia backed her former nephew.

" _Para-Stonega_!" Terra yelled, as rocks burst from beneath Sylvia's feet. The archer managed to dodge, but she stumbled. Before Terra could cast another spell at her, Styrm bashed her with his shield, disorienting the legatus.

"What are you doing?" Emmerololth hissed from the top of the staircase. Both her and Deudalaphon stood over Granny, channeling energy between the two of them, the Lunatic Pandora, and Granny. "Finish them!"

"Concern yourselves only with the ritual," Terra yelled back.

Edge continued to the stairs, dodging a weak sword strike from Celes on the way. "You will not pass me. We need the Hearer," she said through grit teeth. " _Para-Thundara_!"

The shock, delivered from above, cleaved straight into his head, sending him back down the stairs, convulsing. The pain bit into him like no other, but he clenched his quivering teeth and pushed himself onto shaky feet. "I will  _not_  let you open that thing," he said, panting. His arms and legs twitched, and he struggled to see his opponent through lights flashing in his head.

"Edge!" Granny cried from above.

"You can barely stand," said Celes, glaring. "It's a wonder you're even alive."

"I can say the same of you," he responded. "What are you trying to accomplish? Who cares if aether spreads throughout the rest of the world?"

"Easy for you to say," she replied, clenching her gunblade. "Your homeland is special. The power your land holds needs to be shared."

"So your empire can abuse it?"

She stood up straight. "So our empire can bring balance." Celes pointed her sword at him once again. "You and your friends have your convictions, and I have mine. You will  _not_  defeat me."

The aether in the air felt as thick as milk. It made the hairs on the back of Edge's neck stand on end, and it even felt like it empowered him. The aether levels were only getting higher, evidenced by the fact that only mages should have been able to sense it in the first place. That meant the ritual was almost complete.

Azionne's voice rang out through the hall. "With all this aether, I wonder what would happen if I called upon the power of the Lucavi Stones?" Edge looked back at her, spotting both the Dusk Shard and Cetra Keystone in her hands. He had no idea she had even taken them off of the airship.

Emmerololth stopped channeling power. "How do you know of those?" Her voice was harsh and demanding. Deudalaphon said nothing.

"Utilizing their power will channel the aether away from the Lunatic Pandora, will it not?" Azionne asked. She closed her eyes and laughed. "I can feel it! The power within these is infinite!"

"Don't!" Granny yelled. "You're draining aether from the land! That is exactly what they want! With that sort of power, you could summon a Primal without realizing it!"

"That reminds me of the stone Deudalaphon gave me," said Terra, breaking off from Styrm. She held out a similar stone in her hands – one that could only be a third Lucavi Stone. "You called it Magicite, did you not?"

Emmerololth turned to Deudalaphon, stunned. "What is the meaning of this?"

"It is the Magicite," said Deudalaphon. "Use it now."

Celes looked at Terra, eyes wide. "What?"

Terra smirked, holding the Magicite up high. Her cape fluttered as the energy built around her. "I'll channel the aether back to you, then!  _Para-Holyja_!"

An orb of pure white light came into existence above them all, raining down beams of energy that indiscriminately tore up the ground around everyone. Edge ran up the stairs, past Celes, who was doing all she could to dodge the blasts, and past Emmerololth and Deudalaphon, who absorbed as much of the energy cast off by Terra as they could.

Just as Edge was about to reach Granny, the long, ornate box next to her opened.

A beam of magic launched into the ceiling, obliterating it without stopping. The sky opened up, casting aside the aetherial gloom, light bursting even brighter than Terra's Holy spell. Standing next to the beam, Edge felt mesmerized by the primal energy, and within it he saw all of the elements swirling. He felt the ancient power coursing through him, flowing through them all, and it was amazing and terrifying all at once. This was the power of the gods – there was no doubt about that.

Granny wrapped her arms around him, pulling him from his transfixed gaze, and began pulling him down the stairs back toward the others. Wind whipped around them, both cold and unbearably hot. He heard the crackle of lightning and the roar of fire and rain. The aether swirled around Terra, thicker than ever, and through it Edge saw that her hair had turned a vivid emerald green, but he continued past her with Granny at his side.

The Ascians ignored them, hands held high as they surrounded the beam of light that continued into the sky. Celes had eyes only for Terra, who stood at the base of the staircase encased within an aetherial storm, the former's eyes filled with worry. Beatrix and Leo took shelter under the staircase, but Edge didn't have time to see whether they were lucid or not.

Baithin, Azionne, Gogo, Styrm, Ndai, and Sylvia had all gathered together, waiting for Edge and Granny.

"We won't make it out of here," Granny said. "All that aether is like to explode with the power of another Calamity. We'd never get far enough away in time."

"What do you mean?" Gogo asked fearfully. "Is it all over?"

"Did we lose?" Baithin asked. "After all that?"

"Keep moving!" Edge yelled. The roaring had only gotten louder. "We'll never make it if we just stand here!"

"Wait, we have a chance!" said Azionne, holding one of the Lucavi Stones. "The Cetra Keystone! Ndai, you said it had spatial magic, correct?"

"It does!" she exclaimed.

"Will it work with all of this wild magic?" Granny asked, frowning.

"We've no other choice," said Styrm.

Sylvia smiled. "Have a little faith, all of ye," she said. "And join hands, now!"

Just as they did so, the Lunatic Pandora exhausted all of its magic at once, orbs of light exploding outward. The shockwave swept over all of them, Celes and Terra included, but the Ascians spirited them away with shadow portals, leaving the eight Eorzeans alone in the citadel.

Edge remembered shouting, and wishing to be far away from here, and he knew no more.

* * *

 

_They were one, and they were seven. Surrounded by darkness, floating in an endless expanse, they felt alone and confused, yet connected in ways they had never been before._

_Out of the darkness came a great light, an enormous crystal that parted the sea. It bathed them in its light, and they felt at peace, protected. But then another crystal appeared, dwarfing the first one in size and eclipsing its light. The second one did not shine at all, and if anything it seemed to absorb the light around it._

_A voice rung out to them – deep and male, though it sounded like hundreds of thousands of voices speaking all at once. And everything about it felt horribly wrong._

" _Hear… Feel… Think…"_

**_END OF PART 1_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Finally, Part 1 is finished! I'd like to thank everyone giving me feedback so far, particularly sequioiaofeorzea on tumblr. :) Next up is another interlude, and then Part 2: The World of Ruin (because I don't have any original ideas whatsoever but it fit so well).
> 
> Also, by the way - Bozja Citadel is a canon location in the empire, as is the tragedy that occurred there. I just named it the Lunar Cry.
> 
> My characters still haven't become the Warriors of Light, so don't worry. But they are kind of special snowflakes now.


	25. A Riskbreaker Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continent away, the Riskbreakers burst into action when the Lunatic Pandora opens once again.

Ashelia Riot woke with a start to the noise of distant explosions. At first, she thought it was a nightmare of the Calamity, but the echoed cries of her fellow Riskbreakers through the cave alerted her that the sound was very real.

After fleeing the Goblet, the Riskbreakers settled into the cavernous stone dwelling that originally belonged to the Corpse Brigade, called the Sepulchre, near Little Ala Mhigo. They had found it deserted after the opening of the Lunatic Pandora, and against her own misgivings, Ashe decided to bring everyone to take shelter there. The safety of her company took precedence over her complicated history with Milleuda the Slitter. She had no idea where they had gone or why they had abandoned their headquarters, but she just hoped they wouldn't return.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Ashe threw aside her bedroll and rose to her feet, leaving her enclave to join the rest of her friends and allies. No one spoke a word – they stared through the gaps in the stone at the sky above, lit up with streaks of light that crashed in distant places. The earth rumbled beneath their feet, and the air was charged with tension that they all knew too well.

It was just like five years ago. Hells, in some cruel twist of fate, Ashe was even in the same place as she had been back then.

Zulak Rah turned to her, staring at his hands. "Ashe… It's back."

She furrowed her brow. "What is?"

"Magic! It has to be!" Blaetlona Isilmynawyn exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. "My constant headache's gone, too!"

Issabel Drake held out her palm, a fire sparking to life within it. "It  _is_  back. And better than ever."

Ashe looked back up at the sky, at the streaks of light that horribly reminded her of the Dreadwyrm Bahamut's fearsome power. She scowled. "Either Edge and the others succeeded in returning the Lunatic Pandora," she said, trailing off. If that were the case, Edge would have been in range to contact her via linkpearl. "…Or someone opened it once again."

Ashe followed the path out of the Sepulchre, hoping that one of the streams of aether wouldn't crash down anywhere near them. Her mother was in Little Ala Mhigo, after all – and if the realm was scarred by this event just like the Calamity, that wasn't a fate she wished on anyone. Outside, she looked across the desert, breathing in the arid, dusty Thanalan air.

She found some other Riskbreakers sitting outside, wordlessly staring at the sky, sharing in each other's company. Everyone seemed to be in a stupor, unsure of what to do, how to go forward after this.

The world was changing again, but Ashe knew the Riskbreakers had to ride with the storm.

"Reda, Sairsel," she called. The miqo'te woman, practically a sister to her, and elezen boy looked up at her. "Ride to Little Ala Mhigo at once. Notify the Flame troops stationed there that we are going to take back Ul'dah today. They are free to ride with us if they wish."

Sylvan Rain, ever the voice of reason, stood next to her. "Is that wise? Magic may be back for us, but it is for Garlean conscripted troops as well."

"It's the best chance we've had in weeks," Ashe replied. "The Maelstrom and Adders cannot hold out much longer, if word is true. They need us." She took a deep breath. "Sylv, alert the Gullwings. It's time to put our alliance to action."

The sky roared. Light waves pulsed, extending far past Eorzea to the west. This time, Ashe wouldn't have been surprised if an event of this cataclysmic proportion affected the whole world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Short one this time. Any comments would be appreciated!


	26. The World of Ruin, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the Lunatic Pandora is opened, Styrm finds himself alone in a changed world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, folks. Real life got in the way. Here's the beginning of Part 2!

When Styrmyrgan woke up, he had no idea where he was.

            His whole body hurt, riddled with aches and pains.  His armor felt heavy, and it had been damaged again, judging by one particular dent digging into his shoulder.  The metal felt warped, and then he remembered – Terra had partially melted it with her fire magic when he crossed swords with her.

            He sat up with a start, the memories flooding back to him. For one fleeting moment, he thought he was back in Eorzea – he was currently completely surrounded by crystals, many of which glowed with their own inner light.  They twinkled off of each other, providing light even with the heavily overcast sky.  It took him a moment to realize it was a crystal forest – the trees had been completely covered in them, blanketing the woods in what looked like glass or ice. It felt eerie to him. He couldn’t see any animals or hear the wind rustling through leaves.  It was just… silence.

            He felt like he had to whisper.  “Where am I?”  Where were the others? Where was Gran? How far was he from Bozja Citadel? He looked up and saw a city through the trees, tall spires grasping into the sky and colored deep red. He recognized that city – it was Bevelle.  “Does that mean… this is the Bevelle Woods?” he asked no one in particular, looking around. “How did this happen? How did I get here?”

            Not knowing what else to do, he went toward the city, repeatedly checking to make sure he still had his sword and shield.  As he walked, he tried to remember the last thing he saw before he blacked out.  He had been fighting Terra in the citadel’s entrance hall, and Sylvia had been helping him, and Edge had run up the staircase to rescue Gran from the Ascians… And the Lunatic Pandora had opened, releasing aether so bright it had blinded him.  They had all joined together, then, trying to grab for each other as the Cetra Keystone activated its magic.  Then he had a dream of two giant crystals floating in a dark space that seemed to stretch on for eternity, and a _voice_ that resounded in every part of him, in his skin and his core, that he wanted to gouge away more than anything.

            They all should have died with that much aether around them, or at the very least Styrm thought he should have been suffering from a severe case of aether sickness.  But he had never been aether sick, so he didn’t know what that felt like.  Other than some aches and bruises, he felt fine. More than fine, actually – he still felt strong enough to battle with Voidsent again, though the thought scared him.  Was it the Cetra Keystone that had separated them, then?

            The last time they had all separated, they decided to rendezvous at the Yevon Cathedral, so he figured that would be the best place to go. Compared to the last time they were in Bevelle, the streets seemed sparse, its people hurrying from one place to another with barely a glance at the roegadyn.  It reminded him of the tension in Gridania at the peak of the war five years ago, and in the direct aftermath of the Calamity. What had happened when the Lunatic Pandora opened?  If it crystallized the forest around the city, what about the rest of Ilsabard? The rest of Hydaelyn?

            Was everyone fighting in Eorzea right now, to take back their home? Did magic return?

            Even though they failed to take back the Lunatic Pandora, wasn’t giving Eorzea a fighting chance their goal all along?  Did that mean they had succeeded?  That they could go home?  He wished he knew where the others were.  How far did the Cetra Keystone’s magic extend?

            He didn’t know what to do next.  When he reached the Yevon Cathedral and didn’t see anyone he recognized, he sat on the front steps and waited.  Judging by the church bells that rang, it was only the afternoon.

            Bells passed.  Styrm tried not to think of the possibility of no one coming, of the teleportation spell not working for anyone else.  If they didn’t make it out of Bozja Citadel…

            “I can’t believe it!  Styrm!” The roegadyn barely looked up in time to see a pair of thin arms fling around his neck, and a head of messy magenta hair tickle his face.

            “Oh! Ndai!” he exclaimed, awkwardly hugging her.  “You’re safe!”

            Her body shook, and he realized she was sobbing.  “I’m so glad…  I haven’t heard from anyone…  I didn’t know what to do…”

            He gently patted her back.  “It’s okay.  If we wait here, I’m sure everyone else will come, just like you did.”  Styrm tried his best to hold back his own tears of relief – if Ndai made it out, then the others must have, too.

            Ndai pulled back, rubbing her eyes and sniffling.  “I don’t know.  It’s been three days since I woke up in Bevelle, and I’ve been coming to the cathedral every day.  And no one’s in range of the linkpearls.”

            Styrm gaped.  “Three days? Truly?  But I only just woke up in the Bevelle Woods!”

            “Then I guess you took more of a beating than you thought,” she said, looking over him.  “Let’s get you out of that armor.  I hope you’re not too wounded under there.”

 

            Ndai took him to a dark alleyway where she had spent her nights since the battle at Bozja Citadel.  She had managed to find ratty old blankets and discarded clothing to sleep on, but for the most part her fort of wooden crates didn’t offer her much shelter. “I’m pretty used to living like this,” she said, when Styrm commented on the state of her living conditions. “Now, let me help you take off your armor.”

            He turned so she could undo the straps and buckles he couldn’t reach, and pulled off his gauntlets.  “What of the transmitter we used to contact the Ghosts?”

            “It was taken out of service,” said Ndai, her voice low.  “Many people all over the Empire had to replace theirs because of all the aether interfering with the signals now. I haven’t been able to contact Aurelius or any of the others, either.”

            “And for some foolish reason we never gave Sylvia a linkpearl,” said Styrm, frowning.  “Curses!” He shrugged off his breastplate.

            “I’m so worried for them.”

            Styrm turned to her and put a hand on her shoulder.  “We shall find them.  We must.”

            “Where do we even start?” she asked, as she straightened the doublet he wore under his armor.  “Styrm, you’re bruised all over…”

            “I do not know.  It would be easier if we had the airship.  Perhaps we will walk to Bozja first…”

            Ndai frowned, unfolding her fans to begin healing him.  “Neither of us can fly it.  What if we went around to every city in the Empire?”

            “On foot?  That would take ages,” he said, wincing as he felt the aether washing over his wounds. “I am not sure we have that kind of time.  Could you use your fame as a blitzball player?”

            Ndai shook her head.  “That’d be putting a huge target on our heads for Terra and Celes.  I’ve been lying low the past three days, trying to get information.  The war is in full swing again, even in Othard.  And Terra succeeded.  There’re huge amounts of aether all over the world.”

            Styrm crossed his arms.  “Then our mission now is to reunite with the others and return home, so we can fight.”

            For the first time since he found her that day, she clapped her hands together in joy.  “Right! But I don’t know if we should just wait here for them…  That Cetra Keystone we used to escape is a powerful artifact.  Deudalaphon said it had the power to transport people between worlds, so I don’t think distances are an issue for it…  And I don’t know who has it now.”

            “So they could be anywhere on Ilsabard,” said Styrm, furrowing his brow. He tapped his head and felt a shiver go down his spine.  He hoped none of them had accidentally teleported to the Void or anything…

            Ndai shook her head.  “Not just Ilsabard. All of Hydaelyn, I’d think.”

            Styrm let that thought sink in and exhaled.  If they were split up across the whole world, what were the chances of Styrm and Ndai ever finding them?

            He shook his head.  _No, I can’t think like that_ , he thought.  _I must be as optimistic as Ser Baithin, as determined as Lady Azionne, as strong as Ser Edge, as wise as Gran and as resourceful as Master Gogo_ … He tried to think of what any of the others would do.

            “Lady Azionne would do something explosive,” he said.  “But something calculated, as well.”

            “You think so?  I thought she’d go off alone brooding somewhere…”

            Styrm tapped the side of his head and looked up, toward the palace looming over the city.  “Archduke Mateus,” he said finally.  “He could know something. Perhaps we could force him to help us get in contact with the Ghosts.”

            Ndai’s ears flattened against her head.  “Whoa, Styrm, that doesn’t sound like you.  Would that work?”

            “You, Ser Baithin, and Ser Edge are famous in the Empire now for winning the tournament,” he said.  “I do not believe he would make himself your enemy publicly, without Terra and Celes or the Ascians near.”

            “Oh!” Ndai exclaimed.  “And once we contact Aurelius and the rest of the team, we can tell them to come to Bevelle!  Their airship is still here!”

            For the first time that day, Styrm beamed in delight.  “Yes!  We can do this!”

 

            As soon as Ndai told Styrm he had to leave his damaged armor behind for their stealth mission into the palace, he suddenly doubted his earlier words. He had never felt so naked going into a dangerous situation like this, but the miqo’te assured him he’d have a much easier time sneaking around without his full suit of plate. Even so, the sleeveless doublet he wore underneath it did not provide him any protection, and his clumsy, heavy footsteps were no good for stealth.

            They were able to creep onto the palace grounds through one of the breaks in the high brick wall surrounding the premises that had been destroyed in the Voidsent Necron’s attack, which felt like ages ago.  Crouched low, they managed to crawl through an unlatched window on the second floor after they climbed up a thick vine attached to the palace walls.  Ndai was a natural at climbing and sneaking around.  Styrm, on the other hand, felt completely out of his element.

            Inside, they found themselves in a long, wide corridor with floor to ceiling windows.  He had never seen such elegance in once place – lines of marble statues danced down the hall, and a colorful fresco depicting a holy figure, assumedly Yevon, lined one of the walls.

            “Ooh,” said Ndai.  “Pretty.”

            At the sound of her voice, Styrm detected movement down the hall and saw a uniformed man, which he presumed to be palace staff.  The man dropped the linens he held in his arms. “Who’s there? Guards!  Guar – !”

            Before he could finish speaking, Ndai twirled in place and kicked out her leg with a flourish, pointed at the servant, who promptly crumpled to the floor. Styrm blinked away a sudden sense of drowsiness that had overcome him.

            “What was that?” he asked, hesitantly creeping closer to the man. Ndai knelt down next to the sleeping servant, poking him with one of her folded fans.

            After ensuring the servant was asleep, Ndai beamed at Styrm. “I call it the Sleepy Shuffle. It’s a dance Amalia taught me. Just a moment… I’m going to wake him up so he can tell us which room belongs to Mateus.”

 

            After they learned the location of Mateus’ personal chambers, they knocked the servant out again and continued creeping through the halls. After some time, they figured the servant had been found, as guards began swarming the corridors. Styrm and Ndai managed to avoid them, though with several close calls.  Luckily, they reached the Archduke’s chambers without incident.

            A heavy door carved in the shape of an eye symbol marked the entrance, with Yevon glyphs inscribed in the wood around it.  Before opening the door, Styrm turned to Ndai.

            The miqo’te nodded.  “Might as well just storm on in.  We can take out a few of his guard chumps if they’re in there, right?”

            “I hope so,” Styrm replied.  He unsheathed his sword, and she her daggers.  “Prepare yourself.”

            He rammed the door open and immediately shielded himself, expecting an influx of attacks, but the only thing that greeted them was a short gasp.

            “Oh! How dreadful – I did not think you were the intruders!”  Mateus himself was the speaker, seated on the far side of the expansive chamber with his back to a pair of high windows.  Moonlight streamed through the glass, accentuating his silver hair. He sat at his desk, facing them with two candelabras at his side.  Bookshelves lined the two walls on Styrm’s left and right, with an elaborate portrait of the god Yevon atop his unholy steed, Sin.

            Styrm saw no guards – instead, the only other two people in the room were two Midlander women, whom he dimly recognized as the songstresses from the blitz tournament ball.

            Ndai closed and barred the door behind them.  “Sorry if we interrupted your private show,” she said without a hint of sorrow.  “But we’ve got some questions to ask you.”

            She stepped forward.  Styrm kept his sword drawn, on edge even despite the lack of guards.  He supposed he felt cautious _because_ of the lack of guards.  He glanced at both of the songstresses, who drew together with their hands clasped and their eyes wide with fear.

            Mateus spread his hands, appearing completely at ease.  “What could one of the Vector Ghosts want from me? Your team played excellently in Garlemald.  I applauded you even from here.”

            Ndai lurched forward, hands clenching her daggers.  “Where are our friends?  You’re in league with Terra and the Ascians! You’ve got to know something!”

            “Your team has last been seen in Garlemald.  Truly, I know nothing of their whereabouts.”

            Styrm frowned.  At least that meant they could have been laying low.  “What of Terra, then?  And the Lunatic Pandora?”

            “I cannot say,” Mateus said, his expression calm.  “Though all of the planet has become inundated with aether.  The magic of you lesser races is stronger than ever.”

            “Sorry you Garleans can’t use it,” said Ndai, stepping closer to him. “Now…  I guess since you’re absolutely useless to us, we’re going to hold you hostage until you send out a message to the Vector Ghosts to fly here with their airship and pick us up.”

            Mateus smirked.  “Will I, now? You’ll have to fight through my guards if you hope to take me.”

            “Oh yeah?” asked Ndai.  “What guards?”

            Styrm sensed the movement on his right just long enough to raise his shield and block an incoming fire spell, though the heat still seared his face. Before the fire even cleared, he saw a kick flying toward him, knocking his shield out of the way. Left open, his assailant swiped toward his chest with a dagger, but he leapt back and barely dodged it, though it ripped a gash in his tunic.

            “My guards,” said Mateus.  “The songstress Maria from Nozarria.”  He gestured to the blonde woman, close to Styrm, wielding the daggers.  “And her partner, Lenne.  She’s from Eorzea, like you.”  The brunette, near the bookshelf, clutched a short wand.

            Lenne smirked.  “Ul’dah, specifically.  You let your guard down, love.”

            Styrm blushed.  “I apologize, my lady.”  He nearly dropped his sword, faltering at the sight of both of their long legs. Before Maria could swipe at him again, Ndai flew at her with fans raised, knocking her away from him. She dodged Maria’s numerous slashes as if leading the other woman in dance.

            “ _Thunder_!” Lenne cried, pointing her wand at Styrm.  He prepared to dodge, anticipating the spell from his training the past month with Azionne, but a magic barrier prevented the bolt from touching him.  With a start, he realized it was because of Ndai’s dancing – and Lenne knew it, too.

            “There isn’t enough room for you on this stage,” Maria said to Ndai, leaping back.

            Lenne prepared another spell.  “This will stop her in her tracks.  _Blizzard_!”  The ice shards swept toward Ndai, chilling the room and stopping her dance, but Lenne hadn’t finished yet.  “ _Scathe_!” The second spell, quickly cast, knocked right into Ndai and sent her flying back with a yowl, knocking her into the bookshelf.

            “Ndai!” Styrm shouted, engaging Maria in battle again.  He swung his blade toward her, not intending to do any real harm, but the duo proved to be tougher than they seemed.

“Not my books, now!” said Mateus.  He had not even stood from his chair.  “Those are Yevon texts entrusted to me by the maesters!”

“Why are you helping this man, anyway?” Styrm asked through grit teeth. He turned his gaze to Lenne, though he kept his eyes on Maria as he parried her lighting fast blows. “Why are you with the Garleans? The enemy?”

Lenne shrugged and twirled her wand.  “It pays well, mostly.  But nothing beats the nightlife in Garlemald and Bevelle!”  She held her weapon forward, channeling the aether around her. “ _Thunder_!” The spell sounded almost like a song.

            The orb of lightning crackled from her wand, hitting Styrm right in the chest and making him spasm in pain.  He doubled over, but Maria’s knee came up to his chin and knocked him back with a grunt.  Just as quickly, a soft blue light washed over him and the pain disappeared, letting him swipe toward the rogue with his shield, disorienting her.  Immediately after, Ndai hurled one of her daggers at Lenne, narrowly missing her but striking the wooden bookshelf behind her.

            Styrm frowned at Lenne.  “Those are awful reasons to turn against your own people.”

            A loud banging behind Styrm caught his attention, which repeated three times.  He whirled to face the newcomer, spotting a third Midlander woman with long raven hair tied up elaborately, trailing down her bare shoulders and backless black dress. The sound was her lance tapping against the floor.  He had not noticed the other door in the corner, between the bookshelf and the windows, from which she had come.

            “Eyes on me now, dears,” said the newcomer.  “What is all this noise?  Maria, Lenne, you two should know I’ve been trying to sleep off this illness.  I already had to miss our favorite Archduke’s ball.”  She stretched her arms, languidly glancing at Mateus with a lazy smile.

            “Sorry, Julia,” said Maria.  “These two think they’re capable of dancing with us.”

            Julia pointed her lance at Styrm.  “Then I suppose we will have to show them otherwise.  Archduke Mateus, perhaps it would be best if you retired to your bedchamber.”

            “Very well,” said Mateus.  “Feel free to kill them if you must.”

            Lenne pulled Ndai’s dagger out of the bookshelf.  “I’ve never fought another celebrity before. This should be over quickly.”

            “I certainly hope so,” said Julia.  “I’d like to get back to sleep.”  Despite her previously slow movements, she leapt right into action, twirling toward Styrm with her evening gown and all.  She corkscrewed through the air straight toward him, lance pointed forward, and he was barely able to parry the blow with his blade in time.

            Ndai and Maria exchanged another round of kicks and swipes, dancing just out of the reach of the other before diving back in with a lunge of their own. Styrm struggled against the power behind Julia’s blows – she did not wield her lance like the Wood Wailers in Gridania, that was for sure.

            “ _Fire_!” Lenne sang, though that spell was aimed at Ndai, who dodged it.  Apparently deciding the thaumaturge to be the bigger threat, Ndai spun around Maria and threw herself at Lenne, but Maria didn’t give her the space.

            Sensing this battle to be lost, Styrm tried to disengage from Julia, but the woman wouldn’t let up her constant barrage of attacks.  _Bollocks_ , he thought.  _We did not think this through…  If only Lady Azionne was here, or Ser Edge…_

The glass windows behind Mateus’ desk shattered, raining glass throughout the chamber.  Styrm shielded his eyes, and everyone present looked to the source of the blast. A cable lowered from above and a man swung into the room, a double-barreled gun pointed forward. His brown hair fell down to his shoulders.  Half a dozen others joined him.

            “Ha! So it was you!” said the man with the gun, flipping his hair back.  “We heard a roegadyn man was seen outside Bevelle and snuck into the palace.”

            “Ser Laguna?” Styrm asked, head tilted.  “Of the Returners?”  In his month apart from the group with Gran and Azionne, the three of them had come into contact with the rebel group and helped them in their fight against the Empire while Ndai and the others played in the blitzball tournament.

            “Forget about me already?” he asked, grinning.  “Whoa!  Are these the Siren Sisters?  I’d love to have your autograph!”

            “Get out of here, creep!” Lenne exclaimed.

            Julia backed away from the Returners.  “C’mon, girls.  I’m not in the mood to face this rabble right now.”

            “Agreed,” said Maria, pulling open the door to the corridor.  Dozens of palace guards had gathered outside, and all seemed ready to fight.

            “What’s going on?” Ndai asked, but instead of answering Styrm threw her over his shoulder.

            “Don’t know, let’s go while we can,” he said quickly.  “I made some friends while we were separated.”

            As Laguna and the other Returners shot into the crowd, Styrm leapt out the window.

 

            For the past three days, Gogonegi was all alone.

            He had begun to panic, actually.  He hadn’t been able to leave the area where he had woken up, which was little more than an uneven rocky precipice with no shelter he could reach. He was trapped there with only a few hundred yalms of movement.  All around him, an impenetrable storm churned, and he was by himself at the eye of it.  It did not move and definitely didn’t cease – but that wasn’t what clued him off that it was unnatural. The storm was a sharp blue color, like ceruleum, and electricity churned in its midst.  He could only see a few fulms into it, even when it was lit up by lightning, and just walking near it made him feel ill. It was a storm of pure aether, and he didn’t know how far it stretched – but he knew it had been caused by the Lunatic Pandora opening.

            Luckily, he had stashed food and water in his item pack, but his supplies had been dwindling.

            He suspected he was still in the Garlean Empire, since the ground that he _could_ see made him think of the Nozarrian Waste.  The storm seemed to cover a metal ruin, as pieces of a rusted tower poked through the tornado of blue.  Metal walkways snaked up to the top of it, and he wished he could go up there safely to possibly figure out his location.  Even disregarding the fact that it looked like it was about to collapse, it was too close to the aether for him to approach it safely.  He thought it might have been the ruins of a ceruleum processing plant.  Perhaps the aether exploding out of the Lunatic Pandora reacted with the plant and created this storm.

            The storm interfered with his linkpearl signal, too.  He lay flat against the ground and looked up at the tiny circle of clear sky he could see through the funnel.  “How am I going to get out of here?” he wondered aloud, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes.

            Almost as soon as he spoke, the clear bit of sky he could see darkened, and it almost made him want to cry even more with dread.  However, the dark circle grew larger, and it took him a moment to realize it was coming down toward him.  He stood up in shock, and considered hiding, but there was nowhere to go.

            With astonishing speed, the circle – which he saw was a ship, if a strangely shaped one – came down to the ground.  For an airship, it was absolutely tiny, just big enough for no more than four or five lalafell.  It wasn’t fully round – he realized it was a dome with a flat bottom, with the dome part colored bright yellow and the “hull,” if it could be called that, navy blue.  With barely a hiss, the yellow dome opened from the top, completely disappearing into the hull.

            Gogo drew back in shock when a trio of tiny, pink creatures emerged from it. They were shorter than he was, with stubby arms and legs, all identical in appearance without any clothing or adornments.  They jumped from their ship, nearly floating down to him with gentle movements. Stunned, Gogo couldn’t say anything.  He had never seen anything like them.

            “ _Puuu….  Puuuu…”_ said one of the creatures, wiggling its tiny arms toward Gogo.  All three had an antenna on top of their heads, which swayed as they looked around. They looked just as curious about Gogo as he was about them.

            “Are you trying to say something?” Gogo asked.  Were they some sort of beastman tribe?”

            “ _Puuu…_ ” said one of the others.

            The third one turned to the other two.  “ _Puu puuu!”_

“PuPu?” Gogo asked.  “Should I call you that?”  He didn’t care if they were dangerous at this point – if they could help him, he was desperate for it. Besides, they seemed peaceful.

            The first one stepped toward him.  “ _Puu puu_.”  The tip of its antenna glowed bright yellow, and one of the other PuPus hopped back to the airship, where it rummaged for a moment and unveiled a sphere that fit in its tiny hands.  It handed the sphere to Gogo, and all three of their antennae glowed.

            Unbidden, Gogo’s memories of their adventure swarmed to the forefront of his mind. He remembered Edge and Ashelia Riot of the Riskbreakers fetching him and Baithin from the Gullwings’ home, the attack on the Riskbreakers’ headquarters in the Goblet, the flight from Eorzea, meeting with the Ala Mhigan Resistance and clashing with Terra, Celes, and the Ascians, then heading into the heart of the Garlean Empire itself for the blitzball tournament, meeting Aurelius and the Vector Ghosts along the way.  With a shudder he remembered the Archduke’s ball, clashing with the Ascian Deudalaphon and defeating him, arriving at Garlemald, and rescuing Granny from the ruins of Bozja Citadel…  And the Lunatic Pandora opening…

            Gogo blinked, and the Pupus turned to regard each other.  Somehow, he suspected that they used the sphere to see his memories.

            “ _Puu, puu_!” the first PuPu urged him, gesturing to the sphere.  Gogo looked into it again.

            This time, he witnessed a swirl of blue, and he realized he was high in the sky and looking down at the ground.  With a start, he noted that it was the aetherial storm that he was inside of now, as seen from above, and it stretched on a lot further than he expected. But the storm shrunk, and the land became further away, as he ascended higher into the sky. And higher, higher, higher than any airship had flown before…

            The dome-shaped airship sped through the sky and the night, stars twinkling eons away.  He saw the moon, far bigger than he had ever seen it before.  He realized they were flying toward it.  _No_ … _I’m going backward_ , he thought.  _Is this their memories? I don’t believe this is the power of the Echo…_

            Then he was on the moon, and dozens of other PuPus were all around him. Their arms flailed and their antennae glowed.  Something was scaring them…  No, it intrigued them?

            And then he found himself back on Hydaelyn.  He stared at the PuPus, blinking rapidly.  “You live on the moon, don’t you?” he asked. “I don’t think anyone on this planet has heard of you before…  We didn’t know people could live there!”

            _“Puu…_ ”

            Gogo tapped his lips.  “You flew down here when the Lunatic Pandora opened, didn’t you?”

            The strange pink creatures leapt around, their high-pitched voices uplifted. Gogo smiled – they were actually kind of cute.  “ _Puu!  Puu_!”

            “Can you help me?” he asked them.  “I need to get out of here.  I need to find my friends.”

            The PuPus hopped up and down in what Gogo could only assume was excitement, and one waddled toward him to touch his hand.

            He was by no means a religious person, but he felt like he had to thank Hydaelyn and all of the Twelve and even Yevon when they welcomed him onto their airship and soared into the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Yeah, yeah. More FF character references in the form of Julia, Laguna, and the PuPus. I swear I did not intend to drop so many FF8 references at once.


End file.
